The Altered Timeline
by IsabeauT
Summary: An inconsiderate bump at the Ministry sends Hermione Granger back in time to save the love of her life. But which love will she save?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It wasn't supposed to happen this way, Weasley was supposed to be celebrating with the rest of winning army. What was he doing here, in the Forbidden Forest?

"Hey! Malfoy! Where do you think you're going?" The roar of Ron Weasley's voice echoed through the forest as Draco Malfoy skidded to a halt.

"Just leave me alone Weasley, I just want to go home." Malfoy dropped into a half crouch, his wand slightly raised. "I have no quarrel with you, any of you, anymore."

"I don't believe that for a second. You're a Death Eater, you don't deserve to go home!" Ron panted with fury. He pulled his wand out and shouted, "Stupi—"

"Avada Kedavra!" Green light filled the forest as Ron Weasley's body fell to the ground. Draco stumbled backwards, almost falling. He scrambled around and continued his mad dash away from Hogwarts.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"Harry. Harry!" Hermione Granger pulled Harry Potter from the tangle of sleeping Weasleys curled together in the Hospital Wing. The family had pushed a number of beds together and piled on top of them. Nobody wanted to be separated, not after losing Fred. Harry glanced at Ginny's sleeping form before taking Hermione's arm and walking out into the hallway.

"What's wrong Hermione? Where's Ron?" Harry looked around, as if he expected Ron to pop up from behind some rubble.

"That's the problem Harry, I can't find him anywhere. I've looked everywhere I can think of! The Great Hall, the common room, the dormitories, and even the bathrooms. The only place I haven't looked is outside, on the grounds. I just- I don't want to go out there alone." Hermione looked at Harry with tears in her eyes. She was shaking and hugging her arms close to her body.

Harry pulled her into his arms and gave her a long squeeze. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. Nodding to himself he took her hand and started towards the entry hall and the main doors.

"Let's go find that idiot."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Draco Malfoy had lost his parents. After Voldemort had been killed the Malfoys had slipped from the Great Hall into the night. Running from hiding place to hiding place, avoiding the groups searching for survivors, they made their way to the Forbidden Forest. Entering the trees, Draco glanced back to check for pursuit. There appeared to be none so he hurried to catch his parents. Looking around he realized that they had left him behind. As he started up the path again he heard the shout behind him.

Thinking back on the confrontation with Weasley his stomach heaved with guilt. Draco Malfoy was not a killer. He was a coward, scared and running blindly into the night, escaping unknown terrors.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"Hermione! I think I found him!" Harry hurried towards his best friend. "Ron, what are you do— Hermione, no, don't look." Harry grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and pulled her away from the body. His actions told her all she needed to know about Ron's fate.

"No, no, he's not. He's just sleeping, playing a joke on us. He can't be dea—" She struggled briefly in Harry's arms before breaking down completely. Tears poured from her eyes as she stared at the body of the boy she loved.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

The funeral took place two weeks later, one among dozens taking place after the fall of Voldemort. Everyone was mourning, it no longer matter what side you were on. People were dead, and in death, equal. All of the wizard born were buried in the Hogsmeade graveyard, a corner had been dedicated to the fallen. The families of the muggle born were given the choice to bury their loved in a muggle graveyard, something more accessible later on. A memorial was raised in the Common square in Hogsmeade. It listed all the dead together, except one. Voldemort's body was burned with Fiend Fyre, giving everyone left a sense of finality.

As the summer drifted towards fall, decisions were made about Hogwarts. The school was somewhat repaired, enough that classes were to resume as normal on September 1st. Students that were forced out of school, into hiding, or just wanted to come back were given the choice. Many decided not to return, the memories were too overwhelming.

The school year began somewhat differently than usual. Professor McGonagall had become the new Headmistress. One of her first acts was to create a dormitory for first and second year students; they would not be sorted until the start of third year. This created a huge upheaval among students and parents alike. The idea was to create school unity before introducing school competition. New students would get to know each other first, before having old prejudices forced upon them. Thus, the young students became a fifth house at Hogwarts, one that encouraged friendships before house loyalties.

Hermione returned to Hogwarts to complete her N.E.W.T.S. She was a driving force behind creating school unity and acceptance. Other returning students, from all the houses, that had fought in the war helped assimilate the first years to their new life at Hogwarts.

By the end of the following April, the castle was complete again and its students were preparing to return home. The year had been cut short, mostly because a majority of the students were repeating a year. The other reason was that the year anniversary of the final battle was in May. The castle would be flooded with people returning to the castle to celebrate and to mourn. So in late April O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S were written and results were eagerly being anticipated by students at home.

"Hermione, relax already, your results will be here soon. McGonagall already owled you, telling they were coming today." Harry looked up from the Daily Prophet to look at his friend. She was practically quivering in her seat, her eggs and toast sat untouched on her plate.

"I failed, I just know I failed. I didn't study near as much as I should have. I started way too late, before Christmas would have been better." Hermione began grumbling to herself about her study schedule.

"Hermione! Will you relax! You passed with flying colours." Ginny admonished as she walked into the kitchen. Kissing Harry on the cheek she grabbed a piece of toast and a cup of coffee before sitting next to Hermione. "You already have a job at the Ministry. I mean, you're Hermione Granger, smartest witch of our age. You could have any job you want, even without your N.E.W.T.S."

Hermione scowled at her friends. Then she screeched as a large barn owl swooped in through the window. It dropped an envelope right in to Hermione's outstretched hands before flying out the window again.

"Oh no, oh no," She mumbled as she shakily opened the thick envelope. She pulled out a sheet of thick parchment with trembling fingers. After staring at it for a moment she placed it next to her plate and commented, "Well, those are okay marks, I guess."

Harry snatched the paper from the table. "You GUESS! Hermione, you got Outstanding in every single subject you took! That's not just okay, that's amazing!"

"I have to go to the Ministry of Magic. I told them I would bring in my N.E.W.T.S as soon as I received them."

"Surely you don't have to go now, Mum's going to want to celebrate you know." Ginny looked skeptically at Hermione. "Plus, it's seven in the morning, half the ministry workers are still sleeping."

"I'm sure everyone will be there by the time I get there." Hermione rushed upstairs to get dressed. Five minutes later she reappeared in the kitchen to grab her purse. With a quick wave she flew out the door.

"Well, at least she isn't crying today. That's something new." Ginny moved around the table to lean on Harry.

"I know, I miss him too."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

After stopping at the visitors desk to sign in, Hermione hurried towards the lifts that would take her to the level she wanted. As she went to enter the lift a wizard coming off ran straight into her. After helping Hermione to her feet and collecting his belongings he hurriedly continued on his way.

"Well, I never, not even an excuse me." Hermione turned to enter the next lift when she heard a noise at her feet. Looking down she saw a remarkable thing and had a sudden idea. N.E.W.T.S forgotten she hurried towards the exit and home.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"That was fast Hermione, what did you do, throw it at them?" Harry looked up from his breakfast as Hermione breezed back into the kitchen. He hadn't moved from the table, the Prophet still propped against the orange juice. Ginny wandered in fully dressed and sat in Harry's lap.

"Woah! They finally caught Draco Malfoy. He was found in an abandoned house not too far from here. It looks like he's been hiding there for a whole year. When the Aurors searched the house it looked like someone else had been living-"

"Ginny, that's nice and all," Ginny sputtered at Hermione's dismissal. "But I've just had a brilliant idea! I was at the Ministry when someone from the Department of Mysteries ran into me. I mean it was horribly rude and completely irresponsible. His things went everywhere and he never did apologize."

"Get on with it Hermione. There must be something important in this rant." Harry chided his friend gently. She was excited and just needed to be brought back down to earth.

"Oh, well, yes, of course there is something important." Hermione blushed and tried to restrain herself. She sat down across from Harry and Ginny. Ginny slid into a chair of her own to listen to Hermione's news.

"Well I was getting on the lift when I heard something rattle on the floor. I looked down and found this." She pulled a small gold item from her pocket. It twinkled in the morning sun streaming in the kitchen window.

"Hermione is that-" Harry was stunned.

"I thought we destroyed them all when we went to the Ministry to resc- to fight the Deatheaters?" Ginny stammered and glanced at her boyfriend's face. His excitement slid but only briefly; it had been along time ago.

"I thought the same but they must have been working on making new Time Turners ever since." Hermione studied that small time device in her hands. "It's different though, before there was only one spinning axle. Now there are four. I wonder..."

Holding the time turner close to her face, closely examining the small runes marked on the axis. They appeared to mark different segments of time, allowing the user to specify a point in time.

"24, 52, 12, and then just one. They must mean something." Hermione muttered to herself, forgetting her friends.

"Since it refers to time could they mean hours, weeks, months, and perhaps a year?" Ginny looked thoughtfully at the tiny device. "If so that means the Unspeakables have made huge leaps forward in time travel. With the old time turners you could only travel back a maximum of five hours. There were catastrophic results when traveling further back." Harry and Hermione starred at Ginny in surprise. "What? I do read you know, it was all in a recent edition of the Quibbler."

"Are you sure it's true then? I mean Xenophilius Lovegood has printed some pretty, well, totally, unbelievable stories." Harry was unsure of whether to trust the sanity of the man. Mr. Lovegood had been strange before but the attack on his daughter Luna had unhinged him further it seemed.

"But Harry, it is true. I did all kinds of research on it when I received one in third year. I also got all kinds of warnings from Professor McGonagall about how far back I could travel and who I had to avoid when I did." Hermione had thoughts turning over in her head, the others could almost see her brain working.

"That's it I've decided." The others looked up at her. "I'm going back."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Hermione you can't really be serious about this. It's insane, it's crazy! You're risking everything on a slim chance that this new time turner actually works. Sometimes, we just have to let go." Harry followed steadily after Hermione as she made her way through the Forbidden Forest.

"Harry I'm doing this. I need to do this. You go back to the dedication. That's where you are needed right now. All those people are waiting to see you, to see that you still have faith, and no regrets. One year ago people were just beginning their day, not knowing that night would fall, and the final battle would take so many loved ones from us." She turned and walked resolutely ahead.

"Hermione, I regret all of that. I still think of all the people that died for me, for no reason. I wish I could go back and save them all, but I can't. You can't either." Hermione paused and turned back to a tearful Harry. Walking back, she pulled him into a tight hug.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for the things Voldemort did. I certainly don't, and I don't believe anyone else does either. I know I can't save everyone that I love, but I can save the one I love the most. And I will. I will find who ever killed Ron and kill them first." Her last words were ferocious and snarled. Harry almost backed away from the venom in her voice.

"That's the wrong way to go about this Hermione. Come back to the castle with me, mourn with me. We will move on with our lives."

"No."

"If you back you could die before you save anyone. The forest was filled with Deatheaters that night, it wasn't safe, for anyone."

"I can handle myself Harry. I put my last year at Hogwarts to good use. I studied harder than ever trying to become a stronger witch. At first I just wanted to find out who murdered Ron and make him face the punishment he deserves; but now I can kill the bloody bastard and save Ron."

Harry was speechless. He had had no idea that Hermione was so set on revenge. He knew Ron's death had been hard on her, it had been hard on everyone. Harry had lost a best friend, the Weaslys another son, but Hermione had lost a lover.

"Fine, but if this works you have to meet me back here in a few minutes." Hermione nodded. "Don't forget Hermione, you're leaving for a year, just remember to come back to me. Promise me, please." Harry pleaded, desperate not to lose her too.

"I promise." She walked away from him. He did not follow her to the clearing, there were too many bad memories there. He began walking away, back towards the large gathering at the lake. Harry turned at a sound behind him. With a gasp he rushed forwards before stopping short at the sight before him.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM 

Hermione stepped into a familiar clearing. This had been the spot where he died. Hermione had come to the clearing almost everyday over the past year, to read, or practice new spells. Mostly she came to remember, she never wanted to forget the time she had spent with Ron.

She took a deep breath and put the thin gold chain over her head. She knew that by turning the fourth axle she would go back one year. She knew, from various accounts of the night, that Voldemort and his Deatheaters had not invaded the forest until well after sundown. She would have plenty of time to find a safe hiding spot close to the clearing.

All at once she closed her eyes and gave the axle one turn. Her breath caught in her throat and her lungs contracted as her body was squeezed through time. It felt very different from her previous experiences and was extremely uncomfortable. Finally the squeezing stopped and she opened her eyes. The small clearing looked remarkably the same, some of the ground shrubs were smaller but that was all.

Looking around for a place to hide she decided to build a small tree fort. Part of her seventh year schooling had involved magically enhancing plant life to grow to her will. She looked at a sturdy tree set a little ways back from the clearing. Using magic she bulged the trunk slightly to form a subtle ladder into the green canopy. Gripping a branch tightly with one hand she caused multitudes of small branches to weave a platform between two massive limbs. Testing the platform gingerly without letting go of her support branch she decided that it would hold her for all the time she needed. Glancing at her watch she gave a slight giggle when she realized it was now a year off in its time, although the time was correct. She had hours left before that final battle. Pulling a book from her beaded purse, she rested against the sturdy trunk to read.

Several hours later Hermione awoke to a loud bang. Looking around she saw that night had fallen and the final battle had come. Preforming a quick series of charms to shield herself from the war makers below, she readied herself for battle. Cutting a small hole through the woven branches of her platform gave her a clear view of the forest floor. She was shocked when she saw the activity going on below. Deatheaters were running every which direction but mostly towards the castle. She was astonished to see the sheer number of Deatheaters, many more than she or any Ministry officials had ever guessed. Giant spiders followed, along with werewolves, dementors, and other unsavoury creatures that Voldemort had gathered. Hermione shivered as the dementors passed her, she could not protect herself from their power, it would give her away to the crowds below.

Suddenly a voice echoed loudly throughout the forest, and the rest of the grounds, Hermione knew.

"I know that you are preparing to fight. You efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood." Voldemort paused. "Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded.

"You have until midnight."

Again Hermione shivered and struggled to remember what was happening outside the forest. Hermione remembered now, clearly. Ron and her past self were down in the Chamber of Secrets, destroying Helga Hufflepuff's cup, also known as Voldemort's fifth horcrux. That meant that the battle would begin in earnest quite soon. It still scared her.

Hermione looked down and saw that most of the activity below her had ceased, all the deatheaters were at the castle fighting for Voldemort. Hermione climbed higher into the tree. The clearing was near the edge of the forest and one of the tallest in the area. She had a clear view of the destruction being wrought at Hogwarts. The sight caused her to gasp and fight tears. Her only memories of the battle had been finding Harry, helping him to destroy the horcruxes, and against all odds, kissing Ron for the first time. She continued to stare towards the castle as the booming voice echoed throughout the grounds once more.

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery.

"Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat, immediately.

"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, the battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

Hermione shivered as the voice echoed into silence. She slipped back down the tree to watch the direction of the retreating Deatheaters. Again she was shocked by the massive numbers moving past her. It dismayed her to know that even a year later many of the killers below her walked free.

A while later the movement below slowed to a trickle. Finally the flow stopped and Hermione resigned herself to another long wait with just her memories to occupy her thoughts. That was until a slow moving figure entered the clearing. It stopped and seemed to look around the clearing, as if searching for someone.

Then the figure spoke.

"Does it hurt?"

"I didn't want you to die. Any of you. I'm sorry, right after you'd had your son ... Remus, I'm sorry."

"You'll stay with me?"

"They won't be able to see you?"

"Stay close to me."

The figure set off again, at a faster pace than before. Hermione realized that it must be Harry and wanted to shout out to him. She clamped her hands to her mouth before she could. He needed to do this.

A short time passed and then the sound of hundreds of feet moving through the forest filled the air. Hermione saw Hagrid carrying Harry's lifeless body, murmuring to it through his tears. Even though Hermione knew that Harry was alive, the sight of his still body caused her great pain, more pain even then the first time she had seen it as her past self.

She knew now that it would not be long until she would finally unmask Ron's killer. Lost in her thoughts of revenge she almost missed the first set of footsteps running through the forest. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy ran past her tree without a glance behind them. Hermione knew that if the elder Malfoys were running then surely their son would be right behind them.

And he was.

"Hey! Malfoy! Where do you think you're going?" The roar of Ron Weasley's voice echoed through the forest as Draco Malfoy skidded to a halt. Draco glanced around desperately, finally noticing a subtle ladder in the trunk of a tall tree. Moving quickly he climbed the ladder into the safety of its canopy. A small squeak alerted him to the presence of the trees original occupant. Launching himself at her Draco grabbed Hermione by the mouth and wrapped his long arms around her body to restrain her.

"Don't speak, don't move." His breath was warm in her ear. Movement below caught Draco's eye.

"Bloody hell, where'd that bastard go now? I almost had him too. I'm going to kill his whole family for what they did to Hermione." Ron continued to mutter to himself as he walked away towards the castle.

Draco released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. A slight squirming in his arms brought his attention to the girl he was holding. Her face was red and beginning to turn blue, her struggles weakening the longer he held her mouth.

"Shit, Granger," He released the hand over her mouth. "What the hell are you doing here?" Looking more closely he noticed that Hermione had fallen unconsciousness.

"Ah shit, now what am I going to do. I need to get out of here but I can't just leave her here, she'll be eaten." He looked around for a way down before sighing and conjuring some sturdy rope. Tying the rope around Hermione's waist he gently lowered her to the ground. After climbing down the ladder, Draco gathered Hermione in his arms and walked towards the boundary line of Hogwarts' grounds.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Head pounding, Hermione awoke in a dingy room, on a small bed. Snoring could be heard from the room just outside her door. Looking around, Hermione took in the faded curtains and worn rug. The room was small, smaller then her own at least. The curtain was partially open and she could see darkness and stars. Either it was the same night or she had slept the day away. She tried to remember the last thing that happened to her. She remembered hearing Ron's voice, calling out to ... someone. She concentrated on the memory of the voice. It was calling out a name, it was calling out ... Malfoy! Suddenly she remembered. Malfoy had run up the tree she was hiding in. He had grabbed her and covered her mouth. She remembered struggling and then ... nothing. There must be something wrong with her head.

A loud snort shook her out of her revery. There was someone in the other room. She crept to the door, trying to be silent on the old floor boards. Pulling lightly on the door, she peaked out into the living room of what appeared to be a tiny shack. Sprawled across the mouldy love seat was Draco Malfoy, fast asleep. Hermione reached for her wand so she could stun the large man before he could wake up. Patting her pockets Hermione began to panic, her wand was gone. She quickly and quietly searched the small bedroom to see if she had dropped it while she was out. Giving up, she went back to looking out the door, maybe Malfoy had her wand.

Sure enough, tucked into the front pocket of his pants was her wand. She listened to his steady, deep breathing before deciding that he was out like a light, and would not wake when she crossed the room. Moving carefully, she eased open the bedroom door and stepped out onto the bare wooden floor of the living room. Slowly she managed to reach the coffee table, the only obstacle between her and her objective. Stepping to the right, Hermione miscalculated the decrepit state of the floor, and fell right through. Squealing out of shock, Hermione came to a stop halfway up her right thigh.

The sound brought Draco out of his sleep with a start. Looking around wildly, he found a struggling Hermione Granger stuck up to her hip in the floor.

"Hold on, I'll pull you out." He started towards her.

Looking up, Hermione panicked. "No! Leave me alone! I just want to go home!" All her struggling did was cause the floor to creak ominously. She pushed against the floor with all her might, trying to heave herself out of the vulnerable position.

The floor cracked and Hermione found herself falling through the air. THUD! The landing was hard but at least there was something reasonably soft beneath her. Soft and warm. Getting to her feet, Hermione looked up. She expected to see a sneering, laughing face above her, but there was nothing. A groan from under her feet forced her to look down.

Lying on a pile of broken wood was Draco. He had saved her. She dropped to her knees to check on him. Blinking he opened both eyes, only to squint at the light from the hole in the ceiling.

"Are you ok?" Queried a quiet voice beside him. Glancing up he saw Hermione gazing down at him.

"Ah!" He scrambled to move away from her. "I'm sorry!"

"Stop moving!" He froze at the command in her voice. "You might have a neck or back injury. Let me take a look."

Cautiously, she moved towards him. He kept still while she checked first his head, then his chest and back, and finally his arms and legs for injuries. "Do you hurt anywhere? Tell me if I touch something that hurts." She continued to check him out, looking in his eyes and asking questions about the date and how many fingers she had.

"I- I'm fine." He stuttered. "Just a bit bruised. Trust me, I've been through much worse." His grey eyes hardened as he sat up straighter and pushed her away from him. "Why do you care anyway? You hate me, remember?"

"I don't hate you, not anymore anyways. The war was long enough ago that I can forgive. Why did you say sorry to me? When you woke up I mean." She had her hands out, waiting for him to let her check him over some more .

"Seriously, I'm fine. I said sorry because- Wait a minute. How can you say the war was long ago? It only ended this morning!" He looked at her like she had sprouted a second head.

"Malfoy how old are you?"

"Almost 18, why?"

"My next birthday is my twentieth. Putting me two years ahead of you."

"That's impossible! You're only a year older than me!"

"Oh! You know my birthday. How odd, I thought you hated me." Hermione smiled at his confused expression. "Come on, let's find a way out of this dank basement, then I'll explain everything."

They found the stairs hidden behind an old oil tank. It took both of them to move it out of the way. Finally, the tank fell back away from the stairs and Hermione and Draco collapsed onto the bottom step.

"Phew, that was hard. Why didn't we just use magic?" Hermione gave a short laugh. "Oh, do I get my wand back now?" She looked at the boy next to her. He stared guiltily through his hair at her.

"Oh, yeah, um, here." He reached towards his pocket, only to pause. "Um, I think I may have broken it." He pulled the two halves of her wand from his pocket and handed them to her.

Tears filled her eyes. The broken wand in her hands had been through everything with her. She remembered the day she bought it, during her first trip to Diagon Alley. Her first spell, her first class at Hogwarts. For eight years her wand had helped her and saved her from certain death, and now, it was gone.

"Shit." Draco stood up and offered his hand to the crying girl beside him. "Come upstairs, I'll, uh, make some tea."

Hermione took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Following after him, she couldn't help but stare at his back. Even with dust and debris on his shirt, and months of terrible living, Draco's shoulders were straight and broad, speaking of his upbringing and his pride.

Draco moved from the stairs to the kitchen. He pulled down a dusty tea service and set about boiling water. Hermione watched his movements in silence, until the awkwardness of his actions became apparent to her.

"Why are you doing everything like a muggle would?" Her question startled him. He turned to face her, shrugging with one shoulder.

"I don't have a wand. I lost my mother's during our escape from the Room of Requirement. Potter took mine weeks ago when, well, you know when." He turned back to the stove.

"I understand, and I forgive you for that. I know you were under duress and really didn't want to be there." She moved to the stove when Draco looked at the elements in confusion. "It's a wood stove, we need to light a fire underneath."

She opened the dusty oven door. "Oh good, there's some good wood in here, must be from the last occupant. We'll need more though, Draco would you take a look outside for some chopped fire wood and bring some in?"

Draco nodded and headed for the kitchen door. Hermione quickly whispered a spell to light the dry wood ablaze. Draco came back with a half a dozen pieces of fire wood not a second later. He stared at the warm fire before shrugging and dumping his load in the basket beside the stove.

"Right, how can you forgive me for that when it only happened yesterday? I mean even you can't get over something that terrifying in one day. And you said something about being almost 20 or some such nonsense. Explain." He moved away from her and crossed his arms, looking demanding and much like he had all throughout their school years.

She laughed at his expression and finished making their tea. Pointing to the rickety dining table she indicated that he should sit. Settling herself across from him, she cocked her head and gazed thoughtfully at him.

"I come from the future, really." Draco's eyebrows shot up in to his fringe. "I do, truly. One year after the final battle at Hogwarts I managed to get my hands on a new and improved time turner. I came back to stop the murder of Ron Weasley."

"Why? How did he die?" Draco sipped his tea and waited for her to continue.

"Um, I never did find out who killed him, but it was murder. He was chasing you, maybe someone with you did it." Draco didn't meet her eyes when she looked at him this time. He had been alone, abandoned and desperate. If he hadn't spotted Hermione's hideaway he would have had to confront Weasley. He must have killed him in the past. Not past anymore Draco thought. Having Hermione there had changed everything.

Hermione seemed to have come to a similar conclusion in her head about the past. She shook her head and a smile broke out on her face.

"Ron is alive! I must find him and make sure he's alright." Hermione stood up and started for the door. Draco followed her, speaking before she could get to far.

"Um, Granger, there might be some flaws in your plan. First, you have no wand, so you can't apparate away. Don't bother walking, this place isn't accessible by roads. Second, you can't be seen by the you from this time! And your present self will most definitely be with Weasley. And finally, well, I don't want you to leave." He glared at the floor instead of at her.

Hermione stopped a few feet from the door. Slowly, the insane circumstances of her situation hit her. She had forgotten the rules of time travel; you can not be seen, especially by your past self. She was stuck here for one year, forced in to hiding. She couldn't even go to Diagon Alley to replace her wand. That was of course if she could find her way away from the tiny shack she was in. Shaking herself, she strode to the door and wrenched it open. Running a few steps away from the building she gasped at the sheer darkness around her. It was pitch black outside, an inky darkness that scared her. The clouds moved past and suddenly the light glow of the moon and stars illuminated her surroundings. Draco was right, there was no road, no sign of any other light, no way out. She fell to her knees and bawled. She was trapped, with no magic, no help, and one Deatheater. 

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM 

This time when she awoke there was no panic, no fear. She remembered her tears and Draco's stiff arms carrying her in to the shack to the small bedroom. She had fallen asleep still crying, her face was stiff from the dried tears. She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed forever, but her body had different ideas. She needed to use the bathroom, badly. She ran into the living room to see Draco sitting on the couch, staring at the wall.

"Where's the toilet?" She almost yelled at him.

"Um, outside, down a little pathway." He waved a hand in the general direction, not caring if she found her way or not.

"Outside? Are you kidding me? What house has an outhouse these days?" She continued to grumble as she hurried past him to the back door. When she returned she saw he hadn't moved, so her questions filled the silence. "Why are you here? Better yet why did you bring _me_ here? You could have left me in the forest, I would have survived on my own."

Draco turned at the last comment. He studied her expression with a sneer on his face. "I forgot you are the oh so brilliant one of your stupid trio. Of course you could have survived on your own, but to me you were a liability. I didn't trust you not to follow me. Plus, you would have run right into Weasel's arms, compromising your place here in the past. If you need to stay someplace for a year, here is as good a place as any." His speech had started off full of sarcasm and disdain, slowly transitioning into melancholy and finally hope. He looked up at her through his fringe, his face blank.

She blinked at his tone. He _wanted_ her to stay here, with him. "Fine, I agree with some parts of that little rant. I'll stay, for now." She looked at him again. His face was frozen half way between outrage and excitement. "Now, is there any food in this place? I'm starving, and I'm sure you are too."

She walked away into the kitchen in search of sustenance. Draco quickly got up and followed her.

"This place used to belong to my family but was abandoned decades ago in favour of more uh, modern living. I believe my father had it stocked with supplies a short while ago in case we had to flee from the Dark- from anybody."

Hermione opened a few cupboards and began pulling things from them. She thought carefully of how to respond to his remarks while she prepared some dinner for them.

"I know some of what you went through Draco. A few days before I came back, I had the chance to listen in on your statements to the Ministry of Magic. You were quiet honest for the most part, you-"

He interrupted her at that. "I was talking tho the Ministry? Why? Was it willingly? Because I don't want to go anywhere near that place right now. I just want to be alone, well, away at least." He looked at her, afraid of what she would tell him of his circumstances in the future. "Please, tell me what happened."

"You just said please."

"It happens."

"No it doesn't. I've never heard you, or any other Malfoy say it, ever."

He grimaced at her, crossing his arms. He looked so put out Hermione couldn't help but laughed out loud.

"Stop laughing and tell me what happened!" His yell caused her to sober quickly. Moving over to the table with two plates of spaghetti, she sat across from him. Again, she contemplated how to answer his questions without giving away too much information.

"Okay, but remember, anything I tell you now most likely won't happen. I changed everything when I came back in time. i don't truly know how I have effected things. I took a big risk doing this." She sighed. "A few days before the anniversary of the battle you were captured by aurors in a abandoned shack, probably this one. You were questioned about your involvement with Voldemort and the deatheaters. When I left you were still awaiting trial. I don't think you would have gotten much time in Azkaban. You were just a kid." Hermione lapsed into silence, watching for his reaction.

"Well, we'll see what happens this time around, right? Maybe the Ministry won't find me this time, maybe I can hide forever." The bitterness on his face was clear, he didn't want to hide forever, nobody did. He looked down at his food, appetite gone.

"Eat, Draco. You'll need the energy when we clean this place up by hand." Hermione laughed at the indignant expression on his face, clearly he hadn't thought about the state of the shack and how much work it needed.

"By hand? But I'm a wizard, I can just wave my wand..."

"You don't have a wand and mine is broken. We have to do everything the muggle way. Lucky for you I know how." She took his empty plate to the kitchen and began searching for a way to get water. "Looks like the pump in here is rusted, I'll look outside for the main pump. Can you open the windows? We should air out the house some."

He sat staring at the door after she left. She wanted him to do work, Draco Malfoy, doing housework. Shaking his head he got up and started opening windows. Most had no glass, most had screens, though many of the shutters were nailed shut, requiring the use of force to open them. Twenty minutes later he stood watching swirls of dust dance in the light of the setting sun streaming in the windows. Hermione had still not come inside so he went looking for her. Circling the house he found the old water pump, but no sign of Hermione. A little panicked, searched the edge of the woods.

"Granger! Where are you? You can't leave me alone like this!" He half shouted towards the woods. Leaves rustled to his left and he started when Hermione stepped out.

"Relax, it's just me. I had to find a stream or creak to grab water from. I can't start the pump with out water. Were you scared I'd left you? There's no where to go, as you helpfully pointed out earlier." The frustration she felt bled into her words, making her sound upset. She stomped past him, hiding the tears streaming down her face. "Go find another bucket."

He flinched at her sharp words, she was stuck here just the same as him. He entered the house, finding a bucket under the kitchen sink. Walking back outside, he saw she had the pump going, pouring cold, fresh water into the trough. He passed her the bucket and took the full one she handed him back inside. A couple minutes later she joined him in the kitchen, he was looking at the smaller water pump.

"It's rusted here, see." She pointed to the handle joint. "The handle won't move up and down, so it won't pump water. We'll have to work on cleaning it up. But not tonight, it's getting late, we should get some sleep."

Closing the shutters on the windows with no screen or glass, she moved about the room preparing for the night. She went into the bedroom and returned with a pillow and blanket from the bed.

"Here, use these, they'll make the couch more comfortable." She turned to go back to the bedroom.

"Why do you get the bed? You slept in it last night, it's my turn." Draco whined at her, making no move to go over to the couch.

"I get the bed because I'm a girl. Also, you dragged me here, I didn't exactly think I would be sleeping in a hovel. And I don't trust you, not this you. I can block the bedroom door from the inside, keeping you out." With that she turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next morning was clear and bright. Rising early, Hermione reopened all the windows, again causing sunlight to stream into the room. Draco groaned when it hit his face. He was not an early riser, often only waking in time for lunch.

"Rise and shine Draco, we have lots of work to do." She banged about in the kitchen, eliciting further grumbles from the sleepy boy. Mumbling about muggles and their lack of curtesy, Draco made his way outside to the outhouse. By the time he returned, Hermione was setting steaming hot oatmeal on the table, a pitcher of milk beside it.

"Where did you get milk? And how did you start that fire?" He looked warily at the food, then at her. "Do you have a wand hidden somewhere? You're going to hex me the minute my back is turned! Stay away from me!"

"Draco calm down. The milk is powdered, deal with it, and I can start a fire the non magical way." She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the defensive boy. If she had a wand she wouldn't be making him food, she would be out of there. She shook her head and turned back to the open cupboards. She was cataloguing all the food stored in the house. There wasn't very much, the house was only supposed to be used as a way point on the road to somewhere safe. She figured there was enough nonperishables for about four weeks, if they ate small portions. The slightly more perishable items were more of a problem. There was oatmeal, powdered milk, salt, sugar, corn meal, and flour, each one at the mercy of humidity and bugs once they were open. She would have to find a way to preserve these resources. Sitting down at the table across from Draco, Hermione stared until he stopped eating.

"What are you looking at? You gave me the food to eat."

"I know. We need to talk about food, among other things."

"What about food? We have lots right? This powdered milk is horrible though." Draco grimaced at his glass.

"We really don't have that much, and some of it will spoil quickly if we aren't careful. We need to find an outside food source, especially for meat. I think I saw some things in the basement that will help with that." She smiled at the horror on his face. "Yes, we'll have to hunt, at least a little."

After breakfast was cleaned up, Hermione dragged Draco to the basement steps. She handed him a lit candle, then led the way with her own. The candles added dim light to the dark basement. A patch of light lit the middle of the room, the hole through which they fell the night before. Hermione shuffled through the piles of discarded items, occasionally pulling things out and handing them to Draco. When his arms were full he would go upstairs and dump the load on the couch before returning for more. After four or five trips, Hermione called it quits and both moved upstairs to sort through her finds. Draco sat and watched as she made piles of rope, some cages, and quite a few books. He picked up one of the books and saw that it was all about butchering and preserving meat. He flipped through, morbidly fascinated.

The next few days passed quickly. The pair read some of the books and repaired most of the traps they had found. The first time they caught a squirrel they let it go, each too squeamish to kill it. By the end of the week though, Draco craved meat. When they caught a rabbit, he quickly dispatched it, skinned it, cleaned it, and handed it off to Hermione to cook. They ate well that night.

As the weeks went by, they settled into a routine, Hermione would wake Draco at the crack of dawn to check each of the traps set out the night before. He would prepare whatever they caught for either cooking or preserving, then take it to Hermione to finish. She did all the cooking during the day, using as little as possible from the canned goods. After lunch Draco would go fishing while Hermione continued to clean the house. She kept finding things that improved their living arrangements, including some old clothes and fabrics for blankets and pillows. For every good item she found though, there were ten pieces of trash. Hermione sorted diligently, simply because it was a distraction and it exhausted her. By sundown each day Draco and Hermione collapsed into their beds to sleep, with varying degrees of success.

Draco frequently awoke screaming. The first time it happened, Hermione didn't know what to do. She ached to comfort him but didn't think he would accept her words. Soon though, the tired eyes and heavy expressions of the boy broke her resolve. The next night she heard him scream, she left her bed and wrapped him tight in her arms. At first he struggled and demanded that she leave him alone. This made her cling even tighter, and eventually he wrapped his arms around her, crying into her shoulder. They spent many nights like that, Hermione comforting the tormented boy. He never mentioned her comfort during the day, and Hermione thought it best not to bring it up if he didn't want to himself. After a week though, she was just as tired as he was, that night when he cried out, she got up and pulled him into bed with her, there she could hold him and sleep at the same time.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Draco woke up warm, very warm, warmer then he had been in years it seemed. He didn't move, didn't open his eyes, he let his other senses tell him what was happening. He could feel something soft underneath him, was he on a mattress? Was he back home? That thought catapulted him from the sleepy fog he had been drifting through. Hands fell away from his chest as he sat up, a mumbled groan startled him. Looking down, he saw Hermione blinking up at him blearily, it was the best nights sleep she had had in a while.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" Draco scrambled away from the warm body beside him. "Why are you in my bed?"

"For your information this is my bed." Hermione yawned and sat up. "You're here because I'm tired of spending my nights putting you back to sleep. It was just easier to have you here, where we could cuddle and I could still sleep." She laughed at his confused expression.

"I don't understand, you've been putting me to sleep? You go to bed before me every day." The confusion on his face deepened, making him look like a lost child.

"Oh Draco, I didn't know you weren't awake. Every time you would have a nightmare I would go out and hold you, calm you down. I thought you were being woke up by the nightmares, you did walk to my room last night by yourself. I never would have suspected you were asleep." She shook her head sadly before getting out of the bed. She walked around to his side of the bed. Reaching up, she caressed the side of his face tenderly, gently. "I'm sorry I laughed at you. What do you want for breakfast?"

The simple question broke the spell over Draco. He had been staring at her, frozen by her words and then her touch. He had had no idea that she had been holding him night after night. He never remembered his dreams in the morning, but he could tell by the sweat covering his body. He watched Hermione pull on some jeans, and then looked away as she pulled off her night gown.

"Um, should I leave before you do that?" He flushed as she turned towards him, naked from the waist up.

"Draco, you've seen me bath a dozen times by now, I don't really care if you see me naked. I'm sure you've seen breasts before." She laughed and opened a drawer to grab a clean bra and shirt.

"Well, no, I haven't, not really anyways." He stuttered to a halt, realizing he had just said something horribly embarrassing in front of a girl. He didn't understand why he was embarrassed though, he wasn't interested in Hermione like that, was he?

Hermione pretended not to hear his last sentence, instead she walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. Slowly, Draco followed her.

"When you check the traps today, if there's less then three animals don't set them up again. We've been getting less and less small game lately, we might be over hunting them. We've got quite a bit of meat stored up in the cellar anyways. Let's focus on fishing for a while." She rambled on about their food supply while she cooked breakfast for them. Draco was always amazed by her cooking. They had been in the cabin for over six weeks and yet she still managed to make something delicious and new everyday. He also wondered why they hadn't run out of some of their more delicate supplies yet. He was still pondering when she set a plate of pancakes down in front of him.

"Accio fork." The words slipped out of his mouth before he remembered he had no wand. Amazingly the fork on the counter did a strange flop and fell to the floor. Draco stared at it, uncomprehendingly.

"Accio fork." The fork jumped into Hermione's hand when she said it. She handed him the fork silently.

"You can do wandless magic." It was a statement, not a question. He understood now. She just nodded and went back to the food in front of her. "Why didn't you tell me? It could make life so much easier."

"It wouldn't, really." She looked sadly at him before continuing. "It takes a lot of effort to preform even the easiest spells with no wand, and that's if you have an intact wand nearby. There is nothing but fragments of a wand here, so it's even harder. Every spell drains you of energy with nothing to amplify your natural ability, such as a wand. I'm sure you've noticed by now that we haven't run out of flour or powered milk or such. Do you remember when I was totally exhausted for a few days? That's because I was duplicating some of our supplies, trying to make them last."

Her words led to silence from Draco. He couldn't believe she had kept this from him, he could have helped her, he wanted to help her! But then another thought occurred to him.

"Are you afraid of me, Hermione? Are you afraid that if I know wandless magic I'll hurt you? I won't you know, I'd hope you'd thought better of me by now." Disgusted he crossed his arms, storming out of the room so he wouldn't have to hear her reply. Hermione sat, staring after him, tears falling from her eyes. She had not meant it like that.

Draco returned late that evening, determined not to let her explain her words. He ate his meal silently and then retired to the couch to sleep. Hermione cleaned up, glancing at the still figure before retreating to her own bed for the night

Late that night Draco's cry rang through the small cabin. Hermione jerked awake, hesitating over whether to go to him or not. Her decision was made however, when the hunched blonde form crawled in to her bed. She sighed before wrapping him in her arms and humming them both back to sleep.

Hermione was gone when Draco woke up the next morning. Again he was disoriented by the mattress beneath him. He blushed furiously when he realized he was in her bed again. Angrily he stomped into the kitchen, knowing they had to talk at some point.

She was moving slowly, her shoulders moving slightly with every shot breath she took.

"Are you crying?" Draco was stunned, his anger forgotten. She quickly wiped her eyes before turning towards him.

"Of course not, I was just- just cutting onions." Her gaze intense when she met his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you, you know. I haven't been since I saw how pathetic you looked at your trial. I knew then that you were just a cowardly little boy, doing only what daddy told him."

Her spiteful words hurt deep in his heart, mostly because he knew they were true. He was a coward. He didn't want to be, but he was. He looked down at his feet, deciding that he would not let anyone control his actions any longer, and that included Hermione. He looked up at her, his eyes fierce, but not with anger or hate. Hermione backed up at the intensity of his look. She could see something in his eyes, determination yes, and something else, something entirely new to him, and to her.

"Hermione Granger. I love you."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Hermione was stunned by his revelation, this wasn't supposed to happen. They were just supposed to survive the year, then go back to their lives when she had caught up with time. Ron was alive now, she loved him. She didn't know how this had come about, her relationship with Draco was one of convenience, at least for her, meant only to serve as a way to survive the year.

Draco's face fell when he realized what he had said. "I mean, maybe, I think I do. I know I'm starting to care for you, it must subconscious or something, because you take care of me at night without me knowing." His words petered out as he hung his head. The tips of his ears turned red with his embarrassment.

Hermione just stared at the boy across from her, trying to work through her own feelings about him. She knew that she felt sorry for him and his situation. She worried about his nightmares and how they affected his well being. She wanted him to grow out of the scared, cowardly boy he had been forced to become while living with Voldemort. She reevaluated him, comparing the boy in front of her to the one she knew at the end of the war. The Draco before her had filled out from his school years, his chest and shoulders broader and more muscular then ever before. His skin was no longer deathly pale, it was a golden brown colour, several shades darker than his sun streaked hair. The weeks of spending everyday outside had done wonders for his health and physique. He wasn't a boy anymore, he had become a man in the few weeks away from the world. He was becoming someone worthy of recognition.

Draco squirmed uncomfortably beneath her eyes, they seemed to be searching for something, something inside him. Those eyes could see right through him, he thought. He berated himself in his head, how could he be so stupid to fall in love with Granger, she was a muggleborn, well below his class and stature. She was nothing compared to him, he had gold, a highly reputable family name, and an ancestry dating back hundreds of years. She had none of that. But she was smart, very smart, and she had definitely matured in the last few years, mentally and physically. She was still plain to most people, nondescript brown hair, brown eyes, and an average body. When you looked deeper though, you could see the blonde highlights in her hair from the sun, you could see that her eyes had streaks of dark brown in them that gave them depth, and you could most certainly see that her body had all the right curves in all the right places. She had just enough fat to make her look healthy and comfortable to hold. She was kind to him, even when he had treated her in a miserable fashion over the years, especially in the last few months. He remembered quite clearly her screams as Bellatrix tortured her.

He got up, moving around the table to take her arm. He pushed up the sleeve of her shirt, past her elbow. Flipping her arm over he saw the scar spread across her forearm, MUDBLOOD. His fingers traced the word.

"You're right, I am a coward." With that he dropped his arm and left the cabin for the woods.

Draco didn't return until after dark that evening. By this time Hermione was frantic with worry, he still wasn't that great with the dark.

"Where have you been? I was worried sick. What if something had happened to you? I wouldn't be able to find you, you could have been hurt or, or dead!" As her rant slowed, Draco could see tears forming in her eyes. She had actually been afraid for him, after everything that had happened over the past seven years, she was still afraid for him.

"Why?"

"What?" Hermione was confused by the word.

"Why were you worried? I'm a mean, cowardly git. I don't deserve your concern. I'm pitiable." He stared into her eyes, his strong stance contradicting his words, his gaze was a challenge.

Hermione returned the stare, showing him all her emotions. Finally, she decided to tell the truth. "I did pity you, at first." She ignored the sharp intake of breath from Draco. "But not anymore. All I see now is the man you could be. You're more confident now than you have been in years. It's alright to be scared, everyone is at some point in their lives, I certainly have been. I know all about what you went through, I was at the beginning of your trial remember. You never wanted to be a part of anything that happened. Personally, I think you showed great bravery, sacrificing yourself for your mother. You're no coward."

Stepping forward, she embraced Draco tightly, hiding her tears in his shoulder. Hesitantly, he moved his arms to hug her back, burying his face in her hair. Draco could feel her shaking, emptying herself of her fear. He let her go briefly, suddenly picking her up and carrying her to her bedroom. He settled her down, then made to leave for his own makeshift bed.

"Don't leave." The whispered words stopped him quick, they were unexpected. "You should just stay here. I'll come get you in a few hours anyways."

Draco hung his head in shame, the nightmares took all the courage and good feelings that Hermione's words had instilled in him. Slowly, he moved around the bed, pulling off his shoes and shirt before curling up as far from Hermione as he could. It took a long time for either of them to fall asleep.

The morning brought warmth, in the form of the sun and the body lying in Draco's arms. Smiling, he watched Hermione sleep peacefully, untouched by bad dreams. Amazingly, his night had also been free of nightmares, the first good sleep he had had in almost three years. Grinning, he bent his head and pecked a kiss on Hermione's lips. Freezing, Draco panicked at his actions. Frantically he made sure she was still asleep, hoping she had never felt the kiss. As he desperately thought of a way to sneak away from the bed, he failed to notice the warm brown eyes flicker open, or the soft lips turn in a smile.

Hermione raised her head, planting her lips firmly on the ones that had just kissed her. She wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, using his surprise to flick her tongue into his mouth. Draco quickly buried his hands on her hair, deepening the kiss. She moaned against his lips, tightening her fingers in his blonde hair. He gasped at the sharp pain of having his hair pulled but didn't let it deter him from moving his hands down her body to the hem of her frayed shirt. Her skin tingled where he touched her, sliding his large hands up her sides. He could feel how thin she was, wiry, muscled from living outside, he could almost touch his hands together around her waist. He slid his hands up, splaying his fingers across her shoulder blades, his thumbs grazing the bottoms of her small breasts, she wasn't wearing a bra. His thumbs grazed her nipples, hardening them into small nubs. She moved her hands from his hair to his chest, feeling the hard muscles of his chest and stomach. She pulled away from his kiss, moving down to gently nip at his left nipple. He hissed with pleasure and yanked her shirt over her head in retaliation. He swiftly pushed her right breast into his mouth, sucking hard while his hand teased the left. He moved on top of her, holding both of her thin wrists above her head with one hand. He kissed her mouth again, using his free hand to pull her tight to his body. Sliding his hand down into her pants, his fingers moved against her most sensitive place. Nimbly, he manoeuvred their bodies so that he was lying on his side next to her, without his hand leaving her body or stopping its motion. His mouth moved back to her breasts, licking and sucking, eliciting moans and gasps from both of them. He released her hands, choosing to gather her hair in his fist. Her hands fluttered momentarily, unsure of where to go, finally settling one on his back and one in his hair.

Soon, the unending licks and sucks on her breasts and the intensely swirling fingers below had Hermione tensing with anticipation. The intense feeling started in her toes, moving its way up her legs to her centre, before exploding with waves of pleasure. She let out a loud moan, overwhelmed by the feelings. Her hand in Draco's hair pulled tight, while her other hand clawed into his back, leaving marks. As she panted, coming down from the high, she noticed he had stilled, panting slightly as well. He pulled his hand out of her pants, onto her stomach. Her hands relaxed, moving to his chest before he flopped over onto his back.

"Wow." She glanced at him lying next to her. His face was red, and his eyes refused to meet hers. She sat up and covered herself with the sheet. "What's wrong? Did I go too far?"

"What?" He startled at the odd question. Finally looking at her he answered. "No way. If anything I went to far. All you did was kiss me, and I did this." He waved his hand at her shirt lying on the floor, the disarray of the sheets, and briefly at his own pants. He got up, moving to the door. "I'm just going to go change."

"Oh, okay. Just leave you laundry near the back door. I'll clean it when I'm done breakfast." She moved to the edge of the bed, sheet still wrapped around her upper half.

"No, it's fine. I'll do my own laundry today." He did not want her to see the mess he had made in his pants. Just hearing her moans and the pull of his hair had made him cum at the same time she had. But she never needed to know that. He tried to escape from her room once more.

"Draco, wait." He turned to look at her, sure she was going to tell him he was no longer welcome in her bed, not after practically forcing himself on her. She saw his face and at once understood his feelings and thought. "This morning was lovely and I'm just as responsible as you for what happened. I care for you Draco, but I think we should take it slow. Well, as slow as we can since we share a bed."

He looked at her in disbelief. Not only was she happy with what he had done to her, but she wanted to see where they could go with this awkward, forced companionship turned budding relationship. Eventually he nodded, closing off his expressions, acting nonchalant about the whole morning. This just made Hermione laugh, she could read him plain as day. She knew he was happy about her revelation, just like she knew he cared for her. It would just take awhile before he was willing to show it with words again.

From then on the days grew shorter, heralding the arrival of autumn. Longer nights meant more play time for Draco. The couple kissed at least twice a day and frequently brought each other to orgasm during the night. They never moved past that though, never going all the way, even though they both wanted to move forward. After nearly three months in hiding both Hermione and Draco had settled into a daily routine with little fuss. Food was no longer an issue, their wandless spells were getting much better, and with two people using them they were able to conserve stamina. With extra strength they fixed up the shack, turning it from a disastrous pigsty into a small but cozy cottage. One of the books Hermione found in the basement was how to cure hides. She and Draco used the techniques in the book to turn some of their furs into leather so Hermione could sew together some new clothes. They both needed winter clothes desperately, Hermione only had the few sets of clothes she had packed for the reunion and Draco only had the outfit he ran away in. They had enough pelts saved up that Hermione was able to make each of them new pants, new shirts, and a thick winter coat. It was while Draco was trying on his new pants that Hermione was hit with an unexpected emotion.

"Stop moving." Draco paused, wary of the husky tone of her voice. He had been about to put his new shirt on, his arms were over his head, shirt half on. She moved closer, circling his body, trailing a hand across his chest and back. "You've gotten very dark you know, tanned."

"Well, that might come from the fact you force me to be outside all day, no matter the weather." He smirked, following her circling with his eyes. He dropped his shirt. "Maybe I should leave this off."

She nodded, stopping in front of him and placing both hands on his chest. He had gotten more muscular during their time away, while she had just gotten thinner. She leaned her forehead into his chest. Draco felt wet spots and thought she was crying on him. He started to push her away to comfort her when he felt her mouth on his nipple. She was teasing him with her tongue, with a featherlight touch. She gently sucked on both nipples, tugging with barely any pressure. He gasped when she gave a sharp pull sending shivers down his spine. She repeated this on his other nipple, going back and forth, gentle tugs with a quick, sharp pull.

While she teased, her hands moved down his back to his buttocks, griping tightly. She spread and massaged them, making Draco moan. Swiftly she pushed his pants down to the floor along with his worn boxers. She shuffled forwards, forcing him back until he tumbled over the arm of the couch. He lay with his bum in the air, cock straight up and down, waving like a flag of surrender. With great care, she reached out and wrapped her hand around his member, slowly pumping up and down. He struggled to move down on to the couch fully, but she kept a tight grip on him, not wanting him to move lower, he gave up, propping his hands under the small of his back for support. She bent over, her breath ghosting over his cock, making it twitch. Her warm mouth enveloped him, making him hiss with pleasure. She pumped her hand up and down in time with the bobbing of her head. She released him, pulling her mouth of with a pop. She put one hand under his left knee, lifting it to drape over the back of the couch, while her other hand pushed his right knee out away from her.

Grinning evilly at him, she put one index finger in her mouth, wetting and sucking it. Before Draco could realize what she was about to do, she had pushed gently into his anus, licking his cock from base to tip at the same time. He whimpered, shocked by the pain and the pleasure of the feeling. She resumed her grip on his member, pumping slowly as she moved her finger in and out at the same pace. She felt him relax and gave him a gentle smile before returning her mouth to his cock. She licked and stroked and sucked and thrust until she felt his body tense in anticipation. Her mouth and hand moved faster while her finger twirled inside of him. He cried out a warning, swearing as he finally released his load into her willing mouth. She swallowed everything he gave her, sucking out every last drop. She pulled out her finger, causing him to give once last jerk before going limp.

She moved around to kiss him, letting him taste himself on her lips.

"That was... amazing. Totally evil, and completely unexpected of course, but amazing." He panted, staring at her. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Well, I had a very long year all by myself, so I needed some good reading material. I filled one of my bags with cheap romance novels, just something to distract myself with. They had some interesting ideas." She shrugged, leaning her head against his chest. He lazily stroked her hair, pushing it away from her face.

"I'll say. You know, that was totally one sided. I didn't get to play with you at all." He smiled cheekily at her.

"I did have more planned in my head, but." She slid a finger along his semisoft shaft. "If your too tired to put this to good use, I guess we can hold off."

She watched as her words and her finger pulled a reaction from him. His eyes became hungry, while his member rose to meet her hand. He sat up and pulled her shirt off. Standing her up, he latched his mouth to her nipple, slid his thumbs into her waistband, and ripped off her pants and underwear. Hid fingers slipped into her warm folds, rubbing roughly until she arched her back, moaning with pleasure. He removed his fingers, sucking them clean, tasting her. He wrapped her arms around his neck and picked her up with one arm under each knee. He stood, his erection rubbing against her open slit.

She moaned. "Inside, now." She reached one hand down to guide him in while he held her slightly away from his body. He sunk into her, both hissing, her from pain and him from pleasure. He walked to the bedroom while she adjusted to having him fill her.

He placed her on the bed and began to move. He thrust into her gently, watching her face, looking for signs of pain.

"Stop worrying and move. I'm not a virgin, it's just been a while." He looked at her in surprise. Who would have guessed, quiet, bookworm Hermione Granger was not a virgin. He moved faster now, eliciting moans from her and from himself. She matched his rhythm, moving just as fiercely against him. Soon the pace became frantic. She tightened around him, creating even more friction in her already tight core. His orgasm gripped him, rippling up from his core. He pounded into her, triggering her orgasm. She writhed underneath him, prolonging both of their pleasure. Finally, exhausted, he collapsed on her before quickly rolling over so she was on top of him. They fell asleep like that, with Draco still inside of Hermione.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Hermione awoke first, sitting up quickly, disoriented. She felt Draco, still inside her, harden at her movement. She decided to have a little fun, rocking back and worth until he filled her with his rock hard member. He mumbled slightly, still asleep. Hermione giggled, amused that he could sleep through her motions. Shifting, she started moving up and down and around on top of him. His hips responded even though his mind was unaware. Suddenly he flipped her, pounding into her hard. She could feel his movements speed up, indicating he was about to peak. She quickly reached in between them, rubbing herself to keep pace with him. Once again, he climaxed just before she did. Satisfied, yet still sleeping, Draco moved off of her, laying beside her and pulling her into his arms.

Her sudden, loud laughter woke him abruptly.

"What? What's going on? Why are you laughing?" His confusion just made her laugh more. "And why do I feel just as tired now as I did when I went to sleep?"

"You! Ahaha, you really were asleep! How could you sleep through that? I was sure you woke up when you flipped me over." She continued to giggle away, further confusing him.

"Flipped you? What are you talking about?" He pulled away from her, noticing his semi flaccid state and her flushed face. "Did we just? While I was asleep?"

She nodded.

"Oh Merlin, I thought it was just a dream. I was thinking that I wanted to be rough with you in real life, I never thought I could be acting it out. I probably hurt you. Did I hurt you?" He pulled her legs apart, looking for blood or tears, some sort of indication he had caused her pain. She slapped his hands away.

"Stop that, I'm fine. I was only uncomfortable for a minute but that was because it's been some time since I last had sex." He relaxed at her words, but they also piqued his curiosity.

"Who have you had sex with? I mean, before me." She blushed under his frank stare.

"Um, well, I guess Viktor Krum was my first. It was awkward, I was 15 and a virgin, he was 18 and experienced. It was one night, just before the third task in the Triwizard Tournament, and we never spoke of it again. Then came Harry."

"Harry as in Potter? Really? That's kind of weirdly gross."

"Shut up and listen or I won't say another word."

"Fine, sorry. Go ahead, tell me all about you sexual escapades." He smirked at her, earning himself a quick slap to the arm.

"As I was saying, next was Harry. It was just after Ron's funeral. I had set up a tent in the woods behind the Weasley's house, just to get away. One night Harry followed me out there with a bunch of bottles of Firewhiskey. We ended up drunk out of our minds, saddened by grief, and consumed by loneliness. At least I was, I don't remember what he was like. Anyways, we ended up kissing and that led to sex. Neither of us actually remember having sex, but we woke up with him on top of me, still halfway in, so we definitely did it."

"How long did it take before you could look at each other again?" Draco knew the basics of Harry and Hermione's relationship, and it did not include romance or attraction.

"We shrugged it off. We spent nearly eight months travelling together, some of it without Ron. We got used to seeing each other's body because it was easier and safer to be together than apart. We weren't attracted to each other so it was no big deal. We decided sex was the same thing, no big deal. If anyone asked us if we did it, we wouldn't lie, but we don't go around telling everybody."

"You're telling me."

"You asked."

He shrugged, "True, go on."

"After I went back to school whenever I felt like having sex I went to Blaise Zabini. He was always up for a good time, plus he didn't mind not having a committed relationship."

"I'm going to kill that bastard." Draco gritted his teeth, rubbing his fist into the mattress.

"Relax, both Harry and Blaise never happened in this timeline. I have to assume that the me from this timeline is with Ron." She kissed him deeply when he kept mumbling about killing bastards. She laughed and moved off the bed, searching for some clothes.

"Where are you going?" He demanded, reaching to pull her back into bed.

She danced out of his reaching, pulling on one of his shirts. "I'm hungry, I'm going to get some breakfast."

"You can bring mine to me here." He put his hands behind his head, settling into the bed, nose turned up, waiting for his breakfast to appear.

Hermione laughed. "Yeah right. Just because I had sex with you doesn't mean I'm now your slave. You can get your own damn breakfast." She turned and walked away into the kitchen, leaving him to scramble around behind her.

"What if I want you for breakfast?" He shouted as he stumbled through the door, putting his pants on. Her laughter echoed from the kitchen, enticing him forward.

Time slipped by, the snow began and didn't stop. Draco and Hermione spent more and more time cuddled together in the cottage. They read and napped and made love. Occasionally they would step outside and have a snowball fight, or go for a short walk. They worked on improving their magic, trying more difficult spells, using everything they could think of, from transfiguration to defensive spells. Hermione was against trying any offensive magic, she didn't tell Draco but she had a inkling of what would happen at the end of their year together. She tried hard to remember when exactly Draco would be captured, not that knowing the date would help, she had no idea what month it was anymore, let alone the day. She worried about the future, even if she didn't know exactly what was going to happen.

Draco was content for the first time he could ever remember. There was no pressure, no need to conform to others demands. Sure he still had disagreements with Hermione, but that was bound to happen. They were two different people, with different pasts and view points. He still struggled with having to do things the muggle way, his magic was not nearly as strong as hers. She tried to teach him basic skills like cooking and cleaning but he was utterly miserable doing them, she quickly gave up. Her nagging for him to do things himself did wonders for his self-esteem though. He had more confidence, real confidence, in himself than ever before. She never put him down, even in their arguments. She never insulted his intelligence, she split tasks evenly, always believing he could figure out what he needed to do. He was happy and in love.

Cuddled together in bed, Draco was running his hands all over Hermione's body. He had touch her so frequently over the last few months that his hands knew her body by heart. He cupped her breasts, almost weighing them. Shrugging, he moved down across her stomach, reaching her hips he paused. Gently, he swept his hands back across her stomach. He went once more, with just a little more pressure.

"Hermione, don't take this the wrong way, because you'd been getting thinner ever since we got here, but it seems that you've gained some back." Draco started hesitantly before finishing in a rush.

Hermione sat up at his words, looking down at herself. She hadn't noticed anything different about her weight. "I don't think so, I mean if I have I don't know where."

"Here," He pointed at her breasts, and then her stomach. "And here."

Hermione started to panic. She placed her hands on her stomach, feeling. Sure enough, Draco was right. Her stomach used to dip slightly in between her hips, now there was a smooth curve raising above them.

"Draco, what's the date? I need to know the date! And I need my bag. You've got to find my bag!" Tears had started to flow down her face. Draco wavered, wanting to get her bag but not wanting to leave her alone. Finally, he pulled himself away.

He searched the whole bottom floor of the cottage, not finding anything resembling a bag. He decided to search the basement, thinking she might have dropped it when they crashed through and their first day. After about fifteen minutes of searching he found a small beaded bag. It was lodged under a piece of flooring and was surprisingly heavy for such a tiny bag. He raced up stairs into the kitchen. Along the edge of the table where he sat were fine markings. He had put a marking down for every day they had been there. He calculated in his head the month approximately, he wasn't sure of exact days. He stepped back in their bedroom to find Hermione hadn't moved.

"It's about mid January, we missed Christmas altogether. Here's your bag." He handed it to her and she immediately stuck her hand in almost up to her elbow. Draco was impressed, it must have an undetectable extension charm on it. After a few minutes of rifling around, she pulled out a thick book. He briefly caught the title, something about common medical emergencies.

"I wanted to be prepared for anything, so I have books with topics on just about everything in here. Oh, I might have some clothes in here too." She rambled on a bit, skimming through the heavy book. She reached her page and swore. She stuck her hand back into her bag, muttered a quiet spell and pulled out a measuring tape.

"Measure me, please." She handed him the measuring tape and stood up. Noting his confused look, she gave him further instruction. "Right at my belly button, around my stomach."

He rattled off a number and she consulted her book again. She tried to count back on her fingers but quickly gave up, having so true sense of time. Sitting on the bed, she reluctantly turned to him.

"Um, Draco no need to be alarmed,-"

"Too late for that." He muttered.

"But I think I might be pregnant." Stunned silence followed her words.

"Say something, please." She looked into his eyes, begging for a response.

He sank to the floor in total shock. This had not been what he was expecting. He thought she was just gaining some healthy weight, she was awfully thin. A baby, he had never even thought about children, he never expected to be alive at this point, not after the last couple of years. He shuddered, what could he give a child. He was technically on the run from the law, he had no assets, no true income. He couldn't provide for this child, he could barely survive himself. Maybe though, maybe there was another choice.

"How," He had to clear his throat. "How far along...?"

"I think about five months. I don't know how we, or I, didn't notice anything until now." She handed him the book in her hands. "Here, read."

The page was open to information on what to expect during the second trimester of pregnancy. The first thing he looked for was if it was still possible to abort the pregnancy, but as he got reading his thoughts took a different turn. The baby had a heartbeat, it had arms and legs, fingers and toes. It had a gender, a boy or a girl. The baby could make sucking motions and make a fist. It could move around. The baby had fingernails, eyelashes, and eyebrows. It could swallow and hear. His baby could hear him. Pretty soon it would have fingerprints and hair. It would be able to sleep. His baby was alive.

"Well? Thoughts? Opinions? Ideas? Anything?" Hermione had watched the emotions flood across Draco's face. From the ferocity at which he started reading she had an idea of where his thoughts had been, and she had agreed with him. Like him though, she had kept reading and discovered what exactly was going on inside her. There was no way she could harm this child now, and she was pretty sure Draco couldn't either.

"Um, wow, I guess. And how? How did this happen?" He lapsed back into stunned silence.

Hermione laughed at his confusion. She was just as shocked as he was, but she was older and was handling it much better. She was almost giddy at the thought of having a child with Draco, but was worried about his reaction, and even more so about the future. What would happen in May, when they would have to go back to the real world. She still planned on going back to Hogwarts on the day she promised Harry.

"Seriously, how did you figure out you're five months? If it's just by size you're too small." His query brought her back to the present. He was watching her with concern. Her words were calm, but her face showed a different story.

"Well, it's been about five months since we started having sex. Also, it's been about five months since I've had a period. It didn't seem weird to me because I've been off since Ron, well, since he died. As for size, I'm already small myself so it makes sense that any baby I carry would be small too. Those numbers are only the average, our situation is anything but average." She moved down beside him, pulling him into her arms. She was still naked and she moved his hands to her slightly swollen belly. She kissed his forehead, his nose, his lips. Eventually, she got a response, he kissed her deeply, pulling her closer to his body. He felt how cold she was, so he picked her up, shoved the large book off the bed, and placed her in the middle. His kisses continued as he crawled in next to her, pulling the blankets over them as he did. He moved between her legs, preparing himself and her for pleasure.

He paused. "This is still okay right? I mean, can we still make love while you're pregnant?" He looked almost scared, afraid to hurt her or their child.

Hermione laughed. "It's perfectly okay. In fact some studies encourage sex during pregnancy. Besides, I'm cold and I need you to warm me up."

"That I can do." Grinning at each other, they began to move.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Sorry for the delay! This time around I really have no excuse. I'm lazy and I know it. I waited until I had posted the first six chapters before I even thought about finishing chapter seven. But chapter eight is in the works, guaranteed!**

Chapter Seven

Hermione was more careful about keeping track of time now. She managed to transfigure herself a pencil, and, using Draco's marks on the table, draw herself a calendar. She knew what day they had gone into hiding and slowly worked from there. She used Draco's memory and her own to formulate a more exact timeline of events. She worked out that Draco was right on saying it was mid-January, and that she was about five months pregnant. Her new calendar also made sure she knew when to expect company in the form of aurors.

This meant a lot of change had to happen very quickly. Draco forced Hermione to eat more, even when she protested and claimed their stores wouldn't hold out until spring. He also forced her to relax more, do less of the household chores and to take more naps. Realizing it was useless to protest against the strong willed Slytherin, Hermione complied to most of his demands.

More months passed, winter moved into spring, and Draco watched his child grow inside Hermione. And as he watched he worried. What would happen to them when Hermione went into labour? Could they handle the birth, just the two of them? What if there were any complications? He had read all the books he could find, mostly emergency medical texts, but that only scared him more.

Hermione worried about quite different things. It was nearing the time of their unwelcome guests, and she was in no condition to deal with them. At eight months pregnant she felt more like a whale than a woman, even though she was still much smaller than average. She let Draco worry about the baby and the birth, sensing, rather than knowing, that he had forgotten entirely that they where reaching the end of their year, and that he was due to be captured sometime in the next couple weeks. She took to carrying the broken remnants of her wand, just in case. She also starting packing away certain things into her beaded bag, things she either wanted to take with her as keepsakes, or things she didn't want the aurors to take. Some of her packing was a bag with everything she would need for her birth, because there was no guarantee of where in the world she would be.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

After a few very tense weeks, Draco convinced a tired and flustered Hermione to have a quiet day in bed, reading. Nervous about letting him out of her sight, she reluctantly agreed.

An hour into a good book, Hermione felt several things happen all at once. A dozen pops could be heard outside, a smothering sensation was slowly settling around the cabin, and Draco burst into the room, yelling at her to run.

Hermione reached into her pocket, gripping the remains of her wand painfully tight in her hand. Her other hand stretched out to Draco, wildly grabbing at his reaching hand. Their fingers brushed, once, briefly, before Draco was struck down from behind by a stunning spell. Hermione screamed as she watched him slump to the floor, she knew she would never be able to grab his still body before the aurors spotted her and the anti-disapparation ward was in place. She pooled all the magic she could and disapparated away, into nothing.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Draco watched Hermione settle into bed, propping her book on her bulging stomach. He smiled gently, pleased that she had finally settled. Her nervous energy was making him edgy, and he knew it wasn't just about the impending birth of their child.

He moved into the kitchen, content to fix a tray of snacks and a drink for Hermione. As he reached for a glass he glanced at the home made calendar Hermione had sketched out onto a piece of bark. He noticed that three dates where circled, shrugging he turned back to his task, sure that Hermione was just marking potential birth dates. It was odd though, one of the dates was much further from the other two, in fact, Draco took a closer look, it was today. The first circled date was today! Something was going to happen and he needed to figure it out, fast.

A slight movement out the window caught his attention. A shadowy figure raised its arm, a slim line that ended in what could only be a wand. Red sparks flew into the air as Draco spun from the window and rushed to the bedroom. He heard the pops of disapparation as he stumbled through the bedroom door.

"Run! Run!" Desperately, Draco reached for Hermione's hand. He knew she kept the remains of her wand in her pocket, even if she never told him, and he knew that with enough willpower they could escape together. Their fingers touched, briefly, before pain radiated through his body. Draco slumped to the floor, listening to the scream above him. He couldn't imagine the look on Hermione's face as she made the agonizing decision to leave him behind.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

With a bang, Hermione appeared in a back alley behind the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade.

She quickly glanced around before entering the goat pen attached to the pub and settling herself in the enclosed hut.

She needed a plan and fast. Who could she rely on? Anyone? She was a running low on time, both for Draco and for herself. The dedication was in a week, by a rough estimation. She just needed to lay low until then, and hope that the stress didn't cause early labour.

A noise startled Hermione out of her troubled thoughts. The goat, whose home she was squatting in, was awake and staring at her. It bleated, loudly, at her, unhappy with the intrusion.

"Shh, please be quiet. I just need to borrow your home for a few minutes, just to figure out my next move." She pleaded with the irate goat. It only continued to stare blankly, letting out an even louder bleat.

"Blasted goat! What in the name of Merlin's saggy y-fronts are you bleatin' about now?" Aberforth Dumbledore stomped out the back door of his pub, grumbling all the way to the goat hut. He pulled the door open, ready to confront whatever was annoying his stubborn goat. His wand shone down on a thin, extremely pregnant girl. It took him a moment, but the resolute eyes and curly brown hair gave away the girl's identity.

"Hermione! What is blazes are you doing hiding in there? You're annoying the damn goat." Aberforth was unflappable, having had three young wizards land in front of his pub in the middle of the night not quite a year ago.

"Oh, uh, Aberforth, I can explain." Hermione was panicking, on the inside. She was just thinking about who, if anyone, she would turn to for help. Now she had no choice, and Aberforth was not the first person that had come to mind. Or maybe, maybe he was. Why else would she have used everything she had to appear here, behind the Hog's Head. Aberforth was trustworthy, he had already saved her butt in the past. "Can we go inside to talk? It's cold out here."

"You're darn right we're going inside. I want an explanation, and I mean everything." He grabbed her hands to pull her upright and out of the goat hut. Aberforth tucked the shivering girl against his side as he hurried to bring her into the warmth of the building. He took her right upstairs, away from any prying eyes that could be sitting in the front room of his not so clean pub. He sat her down beside a small fire, throwing a ragged blanket over her before returning downstairs to check on his patrons and to get her some warm food and drink.

"Now,' he said, setting the tray on the side table next to Hermione. "I only saw you a month ago, and there is definitely something different now. Tell me everything Hermione."

Hermione sighed. She took a fortifying sip of her tea before launching into her story, deciding it was best to just tell the truth. Aberforth had the same piercing gaze as his late brother, an ability to seemingly look through a person, right to their soul. She told him about her plans to travel back in time to stop Ron's murder and her unplanned living arrangements with Draco.

"Now I just need to wait for the dedication to meet back up with Harry. He can help me get Draco out of trouble, I know for certain he didn't kill Ron this time around." Hermione finished her tea, watching Aberforth's face as he processed the information.

"Hermione," Aberforth turned sad blue eyes into expectant brown ones. "Ron is dead. He was found in the forest after the battle. Some one used the killing curse on him, just the same as before you went back. No one captured has confessed to his murder."

Hermione shrank back in her chair. Everything she had done, every plan, a year of her life, had been for nothing. Ron was still dead. A sharp kick to her ribs startled her thoughts in a different direction. Not entirely for nothing, she had a child inside her, her child, Draco's child. It was then that she realized that her feelings of grief for Ron were different now. The first time she had heard about his death she had been distraught, having lost a love. Now the loss was of a friend, a very close and beloved friend but still just a friend. She had thought she loved Ron, and maybe she had, but it was different from how she felt for Draco.

Hermione felt the tears run down her face. She wiped them away with one hand while rubbing her fussy baby with the other. Aberforth watched her, comparing her reaction now to the one he had seen almost a year ago. It was different grief, but grief all the same.

"Come, you need some sleep. We can figure out what to do tomorrow when you're more clear headed." With that Aberforth help Hermione up and led her to a small quiet room behind the fireplace. It was warm and cozy and Hermione fell asleep in an instant.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

The next morning, Hermione woke to the smell of cooking bacon. Before she could move, Aberforth appeared at the stairs, carrying a tray full eggs, bacon, and toast. He set the tray down across her knees, as close as he could get it to her large belly.

"Eat, and then we'll talk." He settled himself at the small table, a cup of tea steaming in front of him. Hermione watched him for a short moment before turning her attention to the plate of food in front of her. It had been so long since she had had bacon and eggs that she barely tasted the first few bites. After a moment she slowed down, knowing that if she ate too fast she would just throw up the delicious meal, and Aberforth was not the type of person to cook twice if you couldn't keep it down. She finished the food and downed the small glass of milk on the tray. pushing the empty plate to the side, she squirmed her way off the bed to sit at the table with Aberforth. He produced another cup of tea and slid the cup over to her.

"So, what do you need to do?" Aberforth watched the slight woman in front of him, gauging her mental state.

"I need a wand, and a way into Hogwarts on the day of the dedication." Hermione starred, determination filling her eyes.

"Ollivander has reopened his shop." Aberforth took a sip of his tea. "He'd probably be happy to see you."

"Aberforth I can't go to Diagon Alley. Nobody can see me. I might just borrow someone's, without them knowing, and return it to them after this is over." Hermione glared into her cup, unhappy with her inability to move freely.

"A little but of magic and no one will know it's you Hermione. We'll change your hair, maybe the colour of your eyes." Hermione raised an eyebrow, doubtful. "No offence girl, but that last time most people saw you, you had meat on your bones, a flat stomach, and sadness in your eyes. That's definitely not the case anymore."

"You're right. Maybe, maybe it will work." Hermione gazed into her tea, contemplating the validity of Aberforth's plan.

"Once you have a wand of your own, you can easily get into Hogwarts. People from all over are coming for the dedication, you can slip in with a group going in early, then slip away to meet Potter." Aberforth pulled out his wand, motioning for her to stand. "Are you ready? We may as well start now."

Hermione nodded, standing and facing the tall, elderly wizard. Aberforth muttered under his breath, passing his wand over Hermione's hair and face. He gave her long, straight, black hair, making sure the fringe partially covered her face. He gave her pale blue eyes, nondescript and ordinary. He also passed his wand up and down her body, altering her skin tone just enough to take away any chance of recognition.

"You'll flow directly to Ollivander's, I owled him this morning, he's expecting you." Aberforth put his wand away, ignoring the incredulous look from Hermione. "He doesn't know it's you, just that I have a friend that needs some discretion."

Hermione walked over to the bed to find her beaded bag. She dug around for a minute before pulling out a ragged shawl. She wrapped it around herself then headed for the fireplace. Looking over at Aberforth, she gave a small wave, turned and walked into the green flame.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Draco woke up cold, colder than he had been in a long time it seemed. At least the cold seemed to numb the pain. Draco remembered this pain, it was all coming back. The wrench in his shoulders from having his elbows tied behind his back. The sting of the cut across his forehead, just above his eyes. The rough floor scrapping his face and chest every time he moved. The lingering ache of multiple stunners hitting his back.

Light suddenly streamed across the dark cell, shining directly into Draco's burning eyes. He moaned, trying to lift his head enough to face away from the brightness. He listened to the footsteps circling around him, a soft voice murmuring as it made it's way around the small room. Draco rested his forehead against the floor, ignoring the throb in his cut and the crouched figure above him.

Draco flinched when a faint cutting spell was uttered, only relaxing when he realized the ropes binding his elbows had been removed. He let his arms fall to the floor with relief, but otherwise didn't move.

"Come on, get up. I just want to talk." The slightly annoyed voice was familiar, yet not one Draco had been expecting. He pushed himself to his feet, retreating to the wall furthest away from the other person before turning and observing the still crouched man.

Harry Potter stood up as well but stayed in the middle of the room. He gave the blonde a quick once over, noting the deep cut and the stiff shoulders. He sighed, uncomfortable with how people were treated before their trials. Sitting on the small cot, he motioned for Draco to join him. "Will you answer some questions?"

"Do I have a choice?" Draco didn't move, ignoring the invitation to sit.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but the more information I have, the more I can help you." Harry ran his hand through his hair, pushing the dark mop out of his eyes.

"What do you want to know?" Draco decided to stare anywhere but at the other man. He would answer questions only if he thought they would help him.

"You were in hiding for this whole time?"

"Obviously, Potter."

"Right. Were you alone?"

Draco remained silent.

"Thought so." Harry nodded to himself.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Draco glared into the calm gaze across from him.

"Let's just say, I have some idea of what happened to you."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Hermione stumbled from the fireplace into a dimly lit, incredibly dusty workshop. It was filled with slim, unlabelled wooden boxes. One wall held rows and rows of neatly labeled storage bins, filled with wand making ingredients. The work table held an ancient looking lathe, still with the beginnings of a wand in the clamps. Various core materials were strewn about on a second, smaller work table.

Hermione wandered through the room, fascinated by the wand making process and the materials used. She was so throughly engrossed that she didn't hear the shuffling feet or polite cough that issued from behind her.

"Miss Granger," Hermione whirled around, staring hard at the dark doorway the voice had come from. She could barely make out the figure of a slightly stooped old man, a hand placed on the wall for support. "I've been expecting you."

Hermione could only stand there as Mr. Ollivander moved slowly into the room. She hadn't heard his arrival at all. "How did you know who I am? Aberforth said he never mentioned my name in his letter."

"I didn't know it would be you he sent through. I only uncovered your identity when I saw you." He placed his arm on her shoulder, urging her forward to the other room. "I have other means of identifying people Miss Granger, magic can never truly be hidden. Now, are you at privilege to tell me what happened to your first wand?"

"It was broken in a fall. I have the pieces here." Hermione pulled the two pieces from her coat pocket, recalling the unfortunate accident that snapped her poor wand.

Ollivander took the pieces and inspected them, seeming to come to some sort of conclusion in his head. He waved at the stool behind the front counter, making sure she was balanced before delving into the cobwebs and dust that enveloped most of his store. As he looked he consulted the pieces in his hand whenever he picked up or touched a new box. Finally, after several minutes and half a dozen boxes, he sat three wands on the counter in front of her.

"Try these, just like before. Don't say or think of a spell, just feel the wand." He handed her the first wand, then stepped back, giving her room to wave her arm. Right away Hermione knew that this was not the wand for her, it felt heavy, cumbersome and unyielding. Not something her light, easy magic could use easily. She set it down without trying it, looking at the other two wands before her. One wand was similar in appearance to her old wand, the second completely different. Her hand hovered over the wands trying to decide which to try next. Closing her eyes made everything easier. She couldn't see the oddly familiar wand sitting there, willing her to pick it up. As if called, her hand gently picked up the second wand. It was warm, inviting and happy to be in her hand.

"Ah, cherry with unicorn hair as the core. I thought so." Ollivander gathered the other wands to return them to the shelves.

"Why do you do that?" Hermione asked, still looking at her new wand.

"Do what, my dear?" Ollivander paused.

"Give choices when you know which wand will be the one?" Hermione finally looked up, into the intense gaze across from her.

"I have been wrong before. And sometimes I hope that certain wands will never be sold." Ollivander continued on his way to put the other wands away.

"Thank you very much for doing this for me." Hermione stood, using the counter to balance. She headed for the back room again, meaning to use the fireplace to floo back to Aberforth's pub.

"Miss Granger?" The voice was soft, almost lost in the empty quiet of the shop.

"Yes?" Hermione stopped and turned toward the dim shadow near the counter.

"Would you take this with you?" He held out one of the dusty boxes. "I think you'll have a better chance of seeing Mr. Malfoy before I will."

Hermione stared at the box, not understanding how Mr. Ollivander knew any of the things he knew. Slowly, she reached out to take the box, slipping it into her bag. Silently, she turned and resumed her walk to the fireplace. As she stepped in to spin away, she heard a distant voice.

"I pray I am not wrong."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"What are you talking about Potter?" Draco slid to the cold stone floor, keeping his knees close to his chest.

"I know you spent the past year with Hermione. And I know that she travelled back through time to get there." Harry watched for a reaction from the blonde. A blank face returned the stare. "I want, no need, to know more about that time, and where Hermione is now."

"What's there to tell? She came back, we spent a year in hiding, perfectly fine until a bunch of bumbling aurors landed in our backyard. As for where she is now, who knows? She ran when we were attacked. She still can't be seen for a few more days, as you know." Draco spat the words out, forcing himself to tell the tale. He deserved a answer of his own. "Where's your Weasel pal? Lose him somewhere?"

Harry looked at the floor, grief written in every line on his young face. Draco cringed, this was not the reaction he was expecting. This saddened face didn't speak of a friend off doing other things, it told a story of deep loss and barely contained feelings.

"Ron's dead." Harry muttered the words to the floor, working to contain the grief and pounding headache he could feel coming on.

"What?" Draco was stunned. "But that's why she came back, to stop, to stop me from killing him."

The silence grew between the two males. Draco hoped and dreaded an explanation. Harry confirmed his instinct that Draco had nothing to do with Ron's death. Harry tried to formulate an answer, one that would not open one of the half healed wounds on his heart.

"He was found in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. No one has confessed to his murder. Witnesses saw you and your parents running through the woods in that direction a few hours before he was found." Harry viewed the growing horror on Draco's face with interest. The blonde had changed in the last year, in attitude as well as appearance. Harry had noted the darker, toned body and sun streaked hair beneath the blood when he had first entered the cell. Draco's next words almost had Harry falling off the bed in shock.

"She must be heart broken." Draco's quiet words belied the feelings of bitterness and despair he felt in his stomach. All her work, and time, for nothing.

"You love her." Harry spoke with awe, now understanding that the changes had everything to do with Hermione, and very little to do with the forced isolation.

Draco looked up to the peering green gaze, searching his face for sincerity. Harry stood abruptly, startling the blonde. He moved to the door, holding it open, as if waiting for someone.

"Well, come on. I'm getting you out of here." Draco accepted the hand held out to help him up.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"Potter, where are you taking me?" Harry chuckled at the sullen demand behind him. Draco still had some of his old arrogance, rearing its head at the smallest provocation.

"My house. I vouched for you." Harry turned up the street towards a long row of ancient attached houses. "You'll stay with me during your trial, after that it's up to the Wizengamot."

Draco's new question were forestalled by the piece of paper shoved into his hand. He quickly read the words _12 Grimmauld Place_ written in scratchy ink. He watched in silence as the house squeezed it way into being between number 11 and number 13. He followed Harry into the dreary front hall of the tall, forbidding house, spooked by the grim darkness that seemed to ooze from the walls.

"You live here?" Draco couldn't contain the sneer that crept into his voice.

"For now, I'm looking for somewhere a little cheerier for Ginny and I. This place will become a side project, a fixer upper as they say." Harry used his wand to light the way down into the kitchen. "Be quiet in the hallway there. Mrs. Black isn't too fond of company."

Draco didn't take the time to wonder about who Mrs. Black was, he hurried after the dark head illuminated by the glowing wand. The house looked to be in such a state of decrepit neglect that it would take a miracle to make the place pleasant again.

"Have a seat, I'll have Kreacher make us some food. I've seen the crap the aurors feed prisoners, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy." Harry set the kettle to boil, making tea for the two of them.

It was after Harry had set down two mugs of tea with the tea pot and had drank a full mug before Draco could find the courage to speak.

"Why are you doing this?" The question was murmured into the cooling tea.

"I figured it out from the reports I saw. And from what I know of Hermione's plan. Most of it thought is just a gut feeling, instinct really." A tap of a wand warmed the tea pot and a third mug was filled for Harry. "Please tell me, is she okay?"

Draco contemplated the question for a long moment. He didn't know how much to reveal, it wasn't entirely his story to tell. He decided to go with the truth. He watched Harry get up to clear the mugs, clearing his throat so he would have the volume to reach across the large kitchen.

"She's pregnant."

The shattered mugs told Draco all he needed to know.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Harry was frozen on the spot. It was a revelation he had never expected to hear. He knew the risks of what Hermione was planning, she had discussed them at length with himself and Ginny. He hadn't thought she would be so stupid to get herself into a situation like this though, and there was no way to warn the present Hermione. Harry knew more about how time worked now, everything has already happened, so anything he might have said would have no effect on the outcome.

"Well then, that's that. Congratulations, I guess." Harry bent to pick up the broken mugs, placing the pieces in the mostly intact bottoms. "Is she happy? And I mean happy with you, with how things have ended up."

"I think so. I know that she has moments where she seems lost in memories, and after it can be hard to make her smile. I'm trying to be better, with my attitude and my actions." Draco twisted his hands together, relieved that the other man wasn't cursing him or beating him to a pulp. "I think she liked not having to worry about anything more complicated than what to have for dinner."

Harry placed the broken mugs on the counter. He turned to face Draco, leaning on the counter. He watched the restless hands and tired eyes, deciding to help as much as he could, despite the years of mutual abuse. He started for the door, waving Draco up from his chair as he went.

"Let's go. I'll show you the guest room." Draco followed wide eyed up the stairs. "You'll need to get some sleep now, we'll be up early to get ready for the trial."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Draco hurried along behind Harry, down the endless corridors in the bottom of the Ministry of Magic. The muggle make up made his face itch but apparently looking pale and drawn would help his case more than his sun kissed tan. Harry had told him early that morning that the aurors would check for any spells or potions that would alter his appearance or mental state. Draco had looked incredulously at the tins of pale powder, doubting the sanity of the man briskly applying it to his face and neck. Seeing the look, Harry had laughed, citing a love for something called "movie magic." Draco didn't really understand an so choose to just go with it, agreeing that he looked much different in the mirror when they were finished.

Just before entering the courtroom, Harry stopped and pulled Draco into a corner.

"Look, Hermione is coming today." Harry saw a light spark in Draco's eyes, excitement at seeing Hermione again. "But it's not your Hermione, this Hermione is stilling planning to go back in time. Try not to say anything about having her with you all year, at least not until after the dedication in a few days. After that everything can come out."

Draco nodded, looking nervous once more. "She didn't really say anything about the trial, so I don't suppose I can mess this up too badly."

Harry smiled grimly, acknowledging the odd situation. Draco smirked in return, pulling out the Malfoy arrogance and self-importance to hide his reactions. They turned together, entering the centre of the chamber one just behind the other. Harry led Draco to the chair in the middle of the floor, leaving him there to wait for the room to fill. Draco took the time to look around, noting the different faces of the Wizengamot assembled. Some looked curious, others disdainful, most though, simply looked bored. Draco swivelled slightly in his seat to look at the audience behind him. The benches were mostly filled with the aurors that had captured him at the cabin or those that had interrogated him upon his arrival at the Ministry. In a high corner he spotted Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle, both with blank faces, waiting for judgement to pass before taking sides. In the front row sat his mother, searching his face with eyes that barely blinked. Draco knew that the closed expression his mother wore was just to cover her emotions, he could see them shinning from her eyes. Somebody leaned down to talk to his mother, which made him look at the people on the bench just above hers. It was Harry bent down and next to him sat Hermione. Draco starred avidly, knowing that he could only look while she was distracted. It was like looking at a memory, she looked exactly like she had when they first went into hiding, pale and sad. She seemed to feel his eyes burning into her, but when she looked over she only saw the edge of his ear and the unruly length of his hair.

The beginning of the trial goes exactly as Harry had predicted that morning. The Wizengamot threw question after question at him about his role in the war. He was truthful, even with out any force, telling the assembly everything he had seen or done since Lord Voldemort's return four years ago. At points Harry stood and added what he knew about Draco's actions and involvement, stressing over and over that he was an unwilling participant, fighting only to keep himself and his family alive.

At mid afternoon the Wizengamot decided to adjourn until the next morning. By this time Draco was starving, he had noticed that almost everyone else had been eating during the questioning, no one had offered him the chance. Harry was by his side in an instant, urging him to sit still until most other people had left. When Draco was allowed to stand up only Hermione was left, waiting by the exit.

Silently, the trio made their way to the visitor's entrance, exiting to a quiet back alley. Hermione and Draco followed Harry at a distance, not talking, just watching the tight shoulders and clenched fists of the dark haired man. They stopped at a Chinese restaurant, Draco quiet and dazed by the flurry of motion and unknown language of the busy kitchen. Take-out in hand, they continued to walk back to Grimmauld Place, following lesser used roads and walkways.

Draco turned to Hermione during the walk, careful to keep his emotions under wraps. "Why are we walking? We used the floo this morning."

"He likes to walk, it calms him down. This past year he would sneak into Hogwarts, just to wander the halls." Hermione smiled, gazing at the man in front of them. Her face turned bitter after a moment. "He's frustrate with this trial. He thinks that you should be free, you were forced to act in self preservation after all. He was like this at your mother's trial too."

"My mother's?" Draco was afraid to hear more. "She didn't even try to speak to me today."

"She's not allowed to speak to you. Not until the trial is finished." Hermione touched Draco's arm, stopping him. "She wanted to, she sat the whole time with her hands clenched. Harry spoke at her trial too, just after the war ended. It helped that she never truly participated in the fighting."

Hermione kept her hand on Draco's arm, trying to look into his eyes. He hurriedly found a spot on the pavement to focus on, avoiding her gaze, too familiar for him at that moment.

"Hurry up, you two! The food is getting cold." Harry called to them from further up the street. They stepped back from each other and hurried after him.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

After an almost silent dinner, Draco used exhaustion and the need to shower to escape the awkward conversation that was sure to ensue. He actually did shower, but instead of retreating further upstairs to bed, he crept down to hover outside the drawing room door, listening to the hushed tones within.

"What are you planning to do once you return to the past Hermione? It won't be safe at all that night." Harry was pleading, needing to know she would be safe, even though he had Draco telling him she would be.

"I'll go up a tree, use the advanced Herbology lessens I learned this year." She sounded confident, sure that she would be alright. "I'll be fine Harry. I know the rules. I won't be seen, I'll take care of everything from the shadows."

Harry was silent for a moment, seeming to contemplate his next question.

"What do you think of Draco?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

"Honestly, I feel sorry for him. I knew he was pressured, probably for his whole life." Hermione sounded sad and regretful. "He was given a terrible slot in life, but he didn't have to act like he did for all those years. He could have risen above his upbringing, like you did Harry."

"Do you think he's changed?"

"I don't know. I guess it depends on how repentant he is, how willing he is to fix the damage he's done to our world." Hermione sounded upset, angry.

"He didn't do that to you, it's not his fault."

"I know, but he stood there and watched it happen. He could have stopped it."

"You know he couldn't've. He had no power then. He was just as much a victim at that stage."

"He could have done something! They all could have, but they just stood there."

Draco felt sick. He could hear the angry sobs and ragged breathing. He knew that they were talking about his aunt's mutilation of Hermione's arm. And she was right, he could have stopped it, and he didn't. One more reason he didn't deserve what her future self would give him. He couldn't listen to anymore. Silently, he inched up the stairs, guilt crushing his chest with every step.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

The second day of the trial was much the same. The same questions, asked by different people in different ways. More protests and explanations from Harry. The endless bombardment wore on Draco's spirit, dragging his shoulders and head down, weighing on him along with the guilt from the night before. Nothing changed until it was almost time to call it a day. Somebody called for his mother.

"Mrs Malfoy, what was your son's involvement in the activities within your home during the war?" A tall, elderly witch asked from the middle benches.

"He was merely a spectator, forced to observe the horrible actions taking place in that house." Narcissa Malfoy visibly swallowed. "He was only used as retribution for my husband's failures in the eyes of the Dark Lord."

"Was he threatened? Tortured? Coerced at all?"

"Continually, threatened with his own death, as well as mine and his father's." No emotion showed on the stoic woman's face, even when talking about her own demise.

"You may sit down." Narcissa rearranged her skirt to sit gracefully in her front row seat. "Mr Potter, you seem to be defending Mr Malfoy quite vigorously, what is your opinion on his ability to live peacefully within the wizarding community?"

Harry stood tall, eyeing the members of the Wizengamot before speaking. "I believe he will be perfectly capable to adapting the new values and morals of our reforming community. He has already shown regret for his past actions, and has not tried to escape or avoid discussing those actions truthfully with the assembly. I believe he has reason to change."

Harry sat down, ignoring the outbreak of whispers in the hall.

"And what reason would that be, Mr Potter?" A short, rotund wizard bellowed from a lower bench.

"That reason is irrelevant Mr Montgomery, it matters not that he has reason to change, only that he is willing to change." Harry countered.

"Well Mr Malfoy, perhaps this reason has something to do with your disappearance at the end of the war, hm?" Mr Montgomery turned his beady eyes on the blonde wizard in the middle of the room.

Draco kew that eventually the past year would come into question. He raced to decide what to tell the Wizengamot, without revealing Hermione's involvement. Swallowing, he raised his head. He glanced once at Harry before facing the assembly.

"I've been living in the cabin I was captured in, alone, for the past year."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Hermione looked through the third newspaper since she had been forced to leave Draco behind. The front page was a picture of him, glaring defiantly at the camera, the title of the article screaming ALONE ALONE ALONE. The author of the article was trying to discredit everything he had said in his trial, citing his one and only lie. The auror reports stated that there was two sets of clothes, two of everything, even if there was only one bed.

Hermione had a sinking feeling in her stomach, an ache that wouldn't go away. That one sentence was going to ruin the work laid down by Harry and Narcissa. It would be the sentence that sent him to Azkaban. Hermione curled around her engorged belly and cried. Because suddenly, everyone in the world knew Draco Malfoy didn't hide out alone.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Hermione waited impatiently for dawn to break. It was the day of the dedication and she had barely slept in the last few days. As she watched out the poorly cleaned window of Aberforth's living quarters, she could see the beginnings of a what would be a great crowd of people, arriving just for today. She was eager to join the early trickle of people but knew that she wouldn't be able to handle sitting out in the early spring chill for hours.

A painful spasm swept across her belly, forcing her to curl over and stifle a moan.

"Everything all right up there?" Aberforth called, catching the tail end of quiet moan.

"Fine, just fine." Hermione answered. In truth the pain had begun over a day ago, starting with a twinge in her back and a nauseous feeling. She had hidden the increasing pain from Aberforth, because it was vital she was at Hogwarts today and he would have taken her to St Mungo's. When the pain receded, she pulled on a sweater and hurried down the stairs.

"You should eat." Aberforth placed a small plate of toast and eggs on the table, pulling the chair out as she approached. Unwilling to give reasons to her lack of appetite, Hermione nibbled on the toast, hoping to ease her roiling stomach. After fifteen minutes of fiddling and small bites she pushed her plate away.

"I should get going." Hermione stood, pausing as a ripple of pain rolled through her.

"Wait and I'll go with you." Aberforth hurried to clean up, taking both their unfinished plates to the kitchen.

"I should go alone, I need to be in the forest before the dedication starts, so I can be ready when it ends." Hermione swished her wand up and down her body, redoing her disguise from her trip to Ollivander's.

"Hermione, wait!" Aberforth rushed out of the kitchen but she was already gone.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"Why am I wearing this stupid cloak again, Potter?" Draco grumbled, following in the wake of Harry, Hermione, and Ginny towards the front gates of Hogwarts.

"Because technically you are on house arrest until the trial is over, but I thought you might want to be here today." Harry didn't mention that he planned to make Hermione promise to meet him here at the end of her year away in time, knowing she always kept her promises.

"Right, I have to hide so you don't get in trouble. Fantastic plan." Draco scowled at the chuckles of the three people ahead of him, forgetting they couldn't see him.

Hermione turned so she was looking in Draco's general direction. "Just stick close to us and don't wander off. You might be surprised by today's events."

Draco took the opportunity to get a good look at her. Her words had alluded to something more than just the dedication ceremony and he searched her face trying to read her emotions. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed, almost as if she had a slight fever. He noticed she was bouncing slightly, her eyes never staying in one place too long.

He decided to play it cool and aloof with his answer. "I severely doubt that."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Hermione forced herself to a faster pace, the cramping in her stomach impeding every step. She needed to get to the clearing soon, before the crowds milling across the lawns of Hogwarts settled into the seating set up by the lake. A few people stared at her as she painfully made her way in the opposite direction from the ceremony site. A couple started for her, meaning to ask if she needed help, she always hastily moved on from them. At the edge of the forest she paused to lean on a tree, breathing shakily.

"My dear, are you all right?" The kindly brown eyes of Mrs. Weasley searched the face of the drawn looking blonde in front of her. The face looked familiar, something about the eyes looking out at her. But couldn't be her anyways, she was with a group of her classmates at the edge of the lake, chatting away. Mrs. Weasley moved closer, reaching out a hand.

"No, no, I'm fine." Hermione gasped out, cringing away from the woman that was like her second mother. "I just, I just need a little breather, Mrs. Weasley, then I'll be fine."

Mrs. Weasley frowned at the mention of her name, thinking that she had never met this girl before. She glanced around, looking for someone to help her get the young woman up to the castle. "Just a moment dear, and we'll get you up to the infirmary."

When Mrs. Weasley looked back the girl was gone.

Hermione watched from behind a tree further into the forest as the motherly woman searched for her. She couldn't go to the castle now, she had places to be, promises to keep. Hermione turned and made her way deeper into the forest. She was on a slightly different path than the one her past self and Harry would take in just a couple hours, but she knew exactly where she was going. She inched along the path, stopping every few feet to clutch at her stomach. Things were getting bad, she needed medical attention, but couldn't get any until her past self was safely in the further past. In pain, she wandered off the trail she was following, sinking to the ground in a hollow not far from the clearing where everything had gone to hell in the first place.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"Hermione you can't really be serious about this. It's insane, it's crazy! You're risking everything on a slim chance that this new time turner actually works. Sometimes, we just have to let go." Harry followed steadily after Hermione as she made her way through the Forbidden Forest.

"Harry I'm doing this. I need to do this. You go back to the dedication. That's where you are needed right now. All those people are waiting to see you, to see that you still have faith, and no regrets. One year ago people were just beginning their day, not knowing that night would fall, and the final battle would take so many loved ones from us." She turned and walked resolutely ahead.

"Hermione, I regret all of that. I still think of all the people that died for me, for no reason. I wish I could go back and save them all, but I can't. You can't either." The sound of the argument faded as the pair ahead of Draco continued on their path. He had followed them, still invisible, because he knew where they were going. He just couldn't stand to listen to the sorrow in each of the voices he heard in front of him. They were just trying to save each other from the pain of losing a loved one, again.

He slumped back against a tree, listening to the echoes of the forest around him. The wind through the leaves, the movement of small creatures along the ground, the hurried footsteps coming up the path, and the laboured breathing of someone in pain. Just as he stepped away from the tree towards the pained sounds, Ginny Weasley came crashing around the corner, knocking both of them to the ground and wrenching the invisibility cloak from Draco's shoulders.

Ginny jumped to her feet the moment she realized who she had hit. "Stay where you are!"

"Shut up and listen." Draco ignored the wand pointed at his face, straining to hear the sounds that had cut off a moment before. He got to his feet, not looking at the wary redhead beside him.

"I said stay down." Ginny moved closer, almost in front of his body.

"And I said shut up." Draco darted around her, off the trail and past a thick stand of trees. Ginny followed him, still pointing her wand at his back. The arm that came up to stop her was the only thing that saved her from tumbling into the sprawled body lying on the ground. The laboured movements of breathing the only thing indicating the person was alive.

"Oh no, she needs help." Ginny rushed forward again, bending down and struggling to prop the limp girl against the nearest tree. Draco sighed and bent to push the much smaller redhead out of the way. He grabbed the black haired girl by her armpits and pulled her into a sitting position. Only then did he get a good look at her face.

"Gods, Hermione." Draco pushed the sweaty blonde hair out of her face, checking for consciousness and a steady heartbeat.

"That not Hermione you prat." Ginny moved to the other side of the girl, summoning a bowl and filling it with cold water.

"Finite incantatem." Draco murmured, oddly irritated by the slow reaction of the wandless, wordless spell. Ginny gasped across from him as the straight black hair turned to a rich curly brown and the tanned skin paled to creamy white. The slowly opening eyes were darkening from blue to deep brown.

Hermione's hand reached up to touch Draco's face, amazed he was there. The grey eyes stared into hers, filled with worry and confusion. She started to smile, until a sharp pain from her stomach forced a scream instead.

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

"I promise." She walked away from him. He did not follow her to the clearing, there were too many bad memories there. He began walking away, back towards the large gathering at the lake. Harry turned at a sound behind him. With a gasp he rushed forwards before stopping short at the sight before him.

Draco was bent over a panting and pale faced Hermione, while Ginny sat to one side, a death grip on her wand. Harry started forward when another scream ripped through the air. Taking a moment to put his auror face face on, he crouched in front of Hermione, forcing himself into her line of sight.

"Hermione, can you make it to the castle?" He asked, knowing the answer anyways. There was no way she was moving now. The slight shake of her head confirmed his thoughts. "Alright, everything will be fine. Ginny conjure some warm water, keep it warm, and some blankets. Draco, you're going to help me get Hermione onto one of the blankets and help deliver your baby."

Ginny snapped out of her automated haze. "What? His baby? Since when? And how is she pregnant? I just saw her twenty minutes ago."

"No time to explain, Gin, just conjure a few more blankets and keep that water warm." Harry nodded to Draco. One at each end, they lift Hermione just enough to slide a blanket between her and the forest floor. Harry steeled himself to check between Hermione's legs. He had just enough emergency medical training as an auror to know approximately what he was looking for. "Okay, Hermione, I don't think it will be long now. If you feel like pushing, push. This is all you, and I know you can do it."

Hermione nodded, gripping one of Draco's hands and one of Ginny's in a tight death grip. A moaning sound came from her mouth, only to be cut off as she bore down with all her might. Another few pushes and Harry looked up at her excitedly.

"Keep going Hermione, you're almost there, I can see the head." Harry continued his stream of encouragement, he could see her starting to tire out. With a piercing cry, Hermione pushed down and out came the baby's head. Another gut wrenching push and the shoulders were out, allowing Harry to pull the child the rest of the way out. He used a small cloth to clean most of the gore off the baby before handing the bawling bundle to Draco.

Draco looked down at the baby in awe. He slowly unwrapped the tiny child, looking for a gender. Suddenly he smiled, "Hermione, it's a boy. A perfect baby boy."

Hermione smiled wanly up at her two boys, glad to see the happiness return to Draco's eyes. As she relaxed, breaking before the after birth was delivered, she felt another strong contraction begin. A mangled moan was forced from her lips as her hands scrambled for the hands that had so recently let go.

"What's happening? Why is she still in pain?" Draco looked at Harry in desperation, clutching his baby boy in one arm and holding Hermione's hand with the other.

"I- I'm not sure." Harry stuttered, trying not to show his panic. "Ginny, do you think you can manage a patronus to your mother? I think we need her help."

Ginny nodded, reaching for her discarded wand without letting go of Hermione's hand. The silvery horse set of at a gallop, heading for the open lawns and lake of the Hogwarts grounds.

Harry held his breath as he looked once more between Hermione's legs, not knowing what to expect. He came back up with surprise all over his face. "I see another head."

His only answer was a screech as Hermione pushed all over again. Just as quickly as the first, another tiny baby was born. This baby was cleaned and handed to Ginny, who immediately broke into a grin and said over the double wails. "It's a beautiful little girl."

Hermione returned the grin, finally relaxing into the blanket beneath her.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Molly Weasley was talking with a small group of people from the Order of the Phoenix when the silvery course galloped up to her. She immediately recognized her daughter's Patronus and new that it could only be unwelcome circumstances that brought it.

"Mum, follow my Patronus into the forest. We need you help." Ginny's voice echoed strangely in the warm afternoon air. Molly looked at her fellows worriedly before taking off after the glowing horse.

She had seen Harry and Hermione wandering off in that direction sometime ago, with Ginny following close behind. Now she worried about what could have befallen the trio in the forest, it had been mostly cleared of dangerous creatures near the castle. Her worry urged her forward, sending her recklessly down the forest paths. She almost ran after the silver horse, trying to keep up and not lose sight of it. When it did disappear, she stumbled to a stop, looking around for the bright red hair belonging to her daughter.

Once her heavy breathing slowed, she heard a trickle of voices coming from just up the path. She flew forwards, catching a glint of red off the path and through the trees.

Ginny and Harry looked up when Molly rushed into the secluded hollow. They had been watching Hermione and Draco bicker about names for the two tiny infants as they cuddled close together as a family.

"Oh my goodness. Just what, may I ask, is going on here?" Molly's startled question finally alerted the new parents to her presence. Hermione beamed at the older woman, smiling even more at the flushed face and warm eyes looking at her in confusion. Draco blushed like he had been caught doing naughty things, completely unsure about the whole situation.

"It's a long story Mrs Weasley, but believe me, you'll want to hear it." Hermione reached out a hand to touch Draco's face, and that of the baby girl he held. He in turn kissed her forehead, for a moment forgetting that there was a small audience.

"Well, you all can tell me the whole thing once we get everyone up to the Hospital Wing. These babes need a check up and Hermione looks much too pale." Molly began hustling the young people to their feet, taking the babies from Hermione and Draco and giving them to Harry and Ginny. Draco pulled Hermione off the ground and to her feet, but as she wobbled he decided she was safer in his arms. The ready group set off through the forest, aiming for the castle on the other side of the large grounds.

As the trees began to thin, Ginny called for the group to stop.

"Harry, we need to hide Draco again. He's not supposed to leave your house right? Even if he is with you?" Ginny asked, holding out her arm to take the second baby. Harry handed the little bundle off before pulling his cloak from his back pocket.

"Right. Come here you two, you can both go under the invisibility cloak until we get up to the castle." Harry tossed the cloak over Draco's shoulders, pulling the hood up and making sure both Hermione and Draco were completely covered. "Alright, let's go."

The group made their way across the lawns and up tot the castle. Molly walked between the shrinking crowds at the lakes edge and the two carrying the newborns. They didn't want hordes of people swarming the saviour and his girlfriend for mysteriously appearing with two small bundles in the midst of a ceremony. They managed to make it all the way to the front doors without bumping into anyone. Professor Mcgonagall stood in the front hall, directing visitors and guests coming and going from the Great Hall and the rest of the castle. She strode up to them as they wound their way through the crowds.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Mcgonagall starred at the bundles of blankets, seemingly not perturbed by the arrival of two small infants. "Are people giving their children away in thanks now, Potter? Are they aware of how much trouble you truly cause?"

Harry smiled, laughing at his former teacher's dry humour. "Well, they certainly aren't mine, but they do belong to someone important to me."

"I would only assume so. I would also assume that you are on your way to the Hospital Wing. I shall make the trip with you." Mcgonagall's lips turned up slightly. "I want to hear what is sure to be a fascinating and thrilling tale."

The group chuckled as they made there way up the stairs to the Hospital Wing. Mcgonagall lead the way, her steady pace and stern face making sure nobody stopped or interrupted them. Curious looks however, were impossible to stop. Portions of the crowd had moved in to the school to see what work had been done in the last year, and to reminisce about their time at Hogwarts. Muggle relatives and partners had also been invited to the dedication, and they were wandering around in a daze, trying to take in all the information around them. Finally, the hallway cleared, no one was near the Hospital Wing, too many unhappy memories filled the air.

Mcgonagall opened the door, ushering them all into the room. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she set about spelling the door to alert her of any arrival immediately. Retreating inside, she headed towards the far end of the room, where the small crowd surrounded a bed. She was quite shocked to find an ashen faced Hermione propped up against the pillows, with an equalling pale looking Draco beside her.

Madame Pomfrey was checking each of the babies, weighing and measuring, writing down everything on a floating piece of parchment. Satisfied, she handed the infants to their parents, giving orders to feed and burp the little ones, as they were getting fussy. Spotting Mcgonagall watching the happy circle, she joined the elderly witch, keeping one eye on the new parents wile she talked.

"Minerva, what exactly is going on? I swear I saw Miss Granger at the ceremony this morning, looking much healthier and definitely not pregnant." Madam Pomfrey worried her hands, keeping watch over the new parents, hoping for an answer.

"Poppy, I have no idea how this situation came to be. I too saw Miss Granger this morning, looking distinctly not pregnant. And the fact that Mr Malfoy appears to be the father is entirely unexpected." Mcgonagall too, watched the young couple, hesitant to interrupt the happy scene with her unspoken questions. Molly, however, had no such qualms.

"Now then, will someone please explain what is happening? I know you are a brilliant young witch Hermione, but infants don't just grow to term in a matter of hours." Molly put her hands on her hips, entering furious but very concerned mode. "And Harry, why is Draco with you? He is supposed to be at your house, awaiting the rest of his trial."

"Mrs Weasley, this is all because of me." Hermione's voice was weak but determined. She handed her son over to his father to be burped and set up her daughter on her own shoulder before launching into her story.

"I went back in time to try and save Ron. I guess I failed in that task though." Hermione's eyes filled with tears, exhaustion and hormones breaking her down. Draco rubbed her back to comfort her so she could continue. "I had no way back to the present, so I hid away with Draco for the last year. We helped each other through a very difficult time and we fell in love."

Draco felt his eyebrows rise into his fringe. She had never said she loved him before. She had told him with her actions of course and he understood that she was still healing from the grief of Ron's death. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her cheek, making her aware that is was the first time she said she loved him out loud.

Hermione smiled at him, understanding the small gesture. When she faced forwards again the tears were slowing. "I promised I would meet Harry back here, I never expected to get pregnant while I was hiding."

Harry stepped in at that point, explaining the second of Molly's questions. "I brought Draco with me because I worked out that Hermione had been with him for the past year. They were separated when the aurors captured him, but I knew Hermione would be here today, come Hell or high water."

Molly nodded, it was a somewhat outlandish story, but almost anything could happen when magic was involved. She took in the sight of the twin babies, gently resting a hand on each. "Now that we know a little of how these two came about, what have you decided to name them?"

Draco and Hermione looked at each other, having a silent war with their eyes. Each had a very different idea of what an appropriate name would be, and neither would back down. Hermione was favouring simpler names, more common names, while Draco was fighting for his family's tradition of naming children after stars or constellations. The battle continued while the watchers glanced from one stony face to the other.

All was interrupted when an owl flew in through the open window, dropping a letter on Harry's head. He quickly opened the letter, read through it, his face draining with each line. "Draco we have to go."

"What? Why? I can't leave Hermione and the babies." Draco remained seated, glaring at the bright green eyes above him.

"They'll be fine, let's go."

"No, not until you tell me what's going on."

Harry sighed and pushed his messy hair off his face. "This is from the Ministry of Magic, your father has escaped from custody. They checked my house because you were supposed to be there and you weren't. You're now to be arrested for helping your father escape. We have to head to the Ministry right now to get this sorted out."

Draco looked aghast, this was the worst news possible. Nodding stiffly, he rose, passed his son to Ginny, and kissed Hermione goodbye. He quickly followed Harry out the door, disappearing from sight before Hermione could say a word. The small group still situated around the room was quiet, no one was quite sure what to say.

Hermione was the first to speak. She kissed her daughter's forehead gently, and motioned for Ginny to pass over her son. "I will name her Aquila and his name will be Arrakis."

HGDMHGDMHGDMHGDMHGDM

Hundreds of kilometres away, Lucius Malfoy stood in the living room of the very same cabin his son had been arrested from just days before. He sneered as he looked around, eyeing the piles of books and clothes that had been tossed around during the auror's search. Not knowing the cabin had been occupied for close to a year, it seemed to him that his servants had not taken very good care of the place in his absence from his estate.

He decided that he would at least look around, hoping to find some food at least. The swill served to prisoners would force a pig off eating. In the kitchen he found plenty of dried goods, including meat, salted for preservation. He didn't remember telling the servants restocking this place each year to add meat to the stores, and he definitely knew that even if they had, it would have been rotted away in the past year. He spotted a piece of bark on the floor covered in writing. It was a calendar, including the year and dates. Some one had been living here, at least until recently. He moved to the bedroom, searching for some clue as to who had been trespassing on his property. He found long hairs on the pillows and in a book casually tossed under the bed was a name. It was written in minuscule letters in the top corner of the front cover, but Lucius could read the name just fine. _Hermione Granger._


End file.
